


Your Soul on my Skin

by Ladycarathis



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Family Secrets, Healthy Relationships, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Houses, M/M, Magic, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Eren Yeager, POV Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), POV Mikasa Ackerman, Patronuses, Runes, Slow Build, Soulmates, evil wizard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 04:51:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 46,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5116253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladycarathis/pseuds/Ladycarathis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Eren was just stretching his aching back when suddenly a silver light shone up, bathing the cozy common room in an unusual light. He nearly jumped out of his chair when he caught sight of the patronus in front of him. His breath hitched and for a moment there he just stared at it blankly, not even realizing that this patronus might actually be here for him.</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>------<br/>Because there's not nearly enough good Harry Potter AUs for this fandom and I desperately needed some magic and soulmates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

-1-

Eren watched the little blob of light writhe on the canvas of his skin, moving, twisting and turning every which way. He was amazed at the little thing, though he wasn't quite sure what it would turn out to be yet. He had just turned 17 and that meant that, as of today, he would be able to find his soulmate and could be found in return. He wasn't sure he wanted to know who his soulmate would turn out to be, but he knew he would definitely come to like the blob of light now residing on his skin. Everyone did, after all.

It was only the morning of the day after his birthday, so he hadn't really expected to actually find anything yet, but now he was grinning like mad and carefully poking the blob which currently ran circles around his left arm, apparently chasing itself.

“Hey, Eren! What are you looking at?” Jean poked his head out from behind the curtains of his four-poster bed.

“Nothing!” Eren scrambled to say and quickly let the sleeve of his robe cover his arm.

Jean gave him a suspicious look. “You don't act like it was nothing, though.”

Eren sighed but shook his head. He wasn't in the mood to argue with Jean, yet. It was too early for that. Instead, he grabbed his bag, waved to the other guys in his dorm and made his way down to the common room.

“Hey, don't run off like that! I'm talking to you! Eren!” Jean called after him, but Eren acted like he didn't hear him.

He wanted to get down to the Great Hall already and tell his best friends about his discovery. Mikasa and Armin had both been sorted into different houses than him, but they had made it a habit to rotate through the house tables during meals from the beginning, not caring about prejudices and feuds between their houses. At first they had been frowned upon, but after a few well-placed glares from Mikasa, people just let them be. The three of them wouldn't let themselves be separated easily, least of all from something as petty as house rivalries. It also helped that their headmaster, Mr. Pixis seemed to support their show of unity. Besides, the houses only mirrored people's values and determinations, nothing more and nothing less. And now, over six and a half years later, they weren't the only ones disregarding their house table for meals. Everyone sat with friends from other houses when they felt like it, and only during the Welcome Feast and the announcement of the winner of that year's House Cup did the students sit at the table that represented their house.

Eren liked to think that this was kind of their legacy, something they achieved and what would be carried on even after Mikasa, Armin, and he left. He smiled, thinking about it and took a short cut through a hidden corridor he and Armin had discovered in their third year. It took him two floors down from the seventh floor without having to face the morning crowd on the stairs.

Arriving at the Great Hall, he let his bright green eyes wander over the sea of heads, looking for that familiar shade of a blond bowl cut and a red scarf somewhere near it. He spotted them sitting at the Ravenclaw table and grinning and waving excitedly to get their attention, he made his way over.

“Hey guys! Guess what!” he greeted them, not caring he was interrupting Mikasa as she told Armin something or another about the potions essay she was supposed to write for next Monday.

“Eren! Good morning.” Armin smiled and scooted over on the bench to make room for him.

“Hey, Eren. Did you sleep well?” Mikasa inquired, and though Eren rolled his eyes in her general direction, he nodded to answer her question. Sure, she could be a little overbearing sometimes, but she meant well and there was no harm done in asking a simple question. Besides, he was in too good a mood to shoot her down today.

“I'm fine. Now guess what!” he urged them, grinning widely at both of them and then went to pour himself some orange juice and grabbed a buttered toast.

“What?” they echoed and looking at him curiously. It was rare to see Eren in this good a mood so early in the morning. They couldn't tell what could have happened to him over night that he was this happy.

“Oh come on! Not even a guess, Armin?” Eren pouted when it became obvious that neither of them would say what he wanted to hear. The blond shrugged, having no clue what it was that Eren wanted them to guess.

“I have no idea, Eren. Just tell us already. You're obviously excited about it, whatever it is.” he said.

Eren munched on a bite of his toast and nodded, indicating that he would tell once he had swallowed. “I got my soulmate's patronus! It was on my left arm when I woke up! A little ball of white light running circles around my wrist!” he grinned happily and started to pull up the sleeve of his robe. “It's really only a little blob of light, no real form yet, but still.” he prattled on eagerly, only to look disappointed to find that the little blob had vanished from his arm.

Armin and Mikasa both gaped at him. While it wasn't unheard of to have your soulmate's patronus showing on your skin only hours after your 17th birthday, it wasn't really common, either. It usually took about a week, in most cases even two, for them to show. Mikasa's hadn't even shown until a week ago. And her birthday had been back in mid-February.

“Are you sure that's what you saw? You don't think someone jinxed you, right?” Armin asked, careful not to upset Eren's good mood. His words still brought a frown on Eren's face, though.

“No, I'm sure. No one jinxed me. It was right here!” Eren pointedly jabbed a finger at the very place that little ball of light had been running its circles around his arm earlier.

“Okay, Eren. We believe you.” Mikasa tried to calm him down. Of course they believed him -not that he had doubted them in the first place. He had just been so happy and excited and had wanted to show them _so bad_ , and now the little thing was hiding somewhere on his skin where he couldn't show it without trouble. “You can show us later. It'll still be there then.” Armin smiled at him and pulled Eren's sleeve back down.

Eren nodded, if a bit dejected. “Okay.”

“You could also try to feel it, you know?” Mikasa offered, “I'm not really good at it yet myself, but if you concentrate enough you should be able to tell where it is right now. Don't worry though if you don't get it right immediately.” She certainly hadn't, and she was still only getting used to it, too.

Eren nodded again. He would give it a try, he decided. Maybe he could show them now, after all? Closing his eyes and trying to block out the noise of the other students around him, he tried to focus on the little bulb of light somewhere on his skin.

“What is he doing?” Jean's voice threw him out of his concentration just when he thought he had it.

“Nothing, prat.” Eren frowned at him before he shook his head at Mikasa to let her know it hadn't worked. He'd probably need to practice this, just like everyone else had to.

“Watch it, Jaeger!” Jean growled back and sat down opposite of them, kicking Eren's shin under the table. Eren narrowed his eyes at him, but chose to ignore him. He was too happy to let himself get roped into another one of their fights.

“Guys, stop picking fights.” Armin chided. Eren huffed, willing to let it go, but Jean seemed to be determined. “No. He just ran out on me while I was talking to him earlier. Said it was 'nothing' then, too. But I know something is up, Eren. Spill it already.”

“He did? That's not very nice of you, Eren.” Armin smiled, but Jean didn't fail to notice that Armin expertly managed to avoid the topic of 'nothing'. Mikasa had followed their exchange in silence until now, wanting to find out more before she intervened. “Jean, if he doesn't want to share I'm sure he has his reasons.” Of course she would side with Eren. Jean should be used to it too by now, after all the time they knew each other. However, he didn't seem too happy about it.

“He told you though, didn't he?” It wasn't that he was jealous or something, but he thought they were friends, even if they were fighting and bickering most of the time, so Eren should be able to share whatever it was with him, too, right? Eren sighed.

“It's not that I don't want to tell you at all, Jean. Just... Not yet? If that makes any sense?” he offered and now it was Jean's part to huff. “Fine. Just make sure to tell me eventually, idiot.”

“Tell you what?” Marco asked and sat down next to him, looking curiously over their little group of friends. “About this 'nothing' he keeps waving me off about.” Jean frowned, using his fingers to imply quotation marks around the word 'nothing'. “Oh?” Marco seemed a little confused and looked to Armin for help. The blond simply shrugged. “Don't look at me. It's not my place to tell, really.” he said and then focused on his breakfast.

“Okay.” Marco smiled, “Will you tell me about it too, Eren?”

“Yeah, of course. I'll tell all of you later. Just not right now, okay?” he smiled apologetically at the pair. He still needed time to get used to the thought himself. He had known it would happen after all, but now that it did, he didn't know how to feel about it.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In light of Halloween I was in desperate need for some magic and so this baby was born ca two weeks ago. I have several more chapters written already, so the first few updates are secured. I am nowhere near the end though, so this will probably go on for a while. :D
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ wich means that as of now, for the next three months I will have a chapter ready on time :) Of course I'll keep writing so I won't run out of chapters then and you won't end up with longer waiting periods.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 14th of november.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/post/132285506958/your-soul-on-my-skin-ch-1) where you can like and reblog it!
> 
>  
> 
> _ALSO! A very big 'thank you'-hug to my beta,[MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) who is working her way through this even though she isn't a big fan of Harry Potter (can you believe it?!) and said she's still glad she's reading it, even though it's not something she would've picked up otherwise._
> 
>  
> 
> ps: No, I did not forget about AMFU, nor do I plan on dropping it. I just need a little time to figure some things out, so I'll be taking a little leave of absence from it for now. I'll write when I get the motivation, but otherwise my concentration is on YSOMS for now :)


	2. Chapter 2

-2-

Later that day they all met outside at their favourite spot at the lake. Classes were over for the day and they wanted to enjoy the first really warm day of spring while it still lasted. They had settled in a large circle on the ground under a rather large and gnarly oak and were chatting amicably in smaller groups.

“Well then, Eren. You said you wanted to tell us something?” Jean brought up the topic that had been nagging at the back of his mind all day since even before breakfast. It brought everyone's attention to Eren who looked a little like a deer in the headlights, but nodded. “Yeah, I guess I said that, didn't I?” He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly while simultaneously nodding along to his words. “You did.” Jean confirmed with a stern nod and everyone quieted down to listen to Eren. They had all noticed something was up with him today, but none of them could put their finger on what it was.

“Well, you all know it was my birthday yesterday, right?” Eren started off carefully, only to earn himself a chorus of “Well, duh”-s and “Obviously”-s and he nodded along. “Of course you know. Well, what I wanted to tell you-” he took a deep breath, “it's about the patronus thing. I already have it. It must've shown up some time tonight while I was sleeping, because this morning there was a little blob of light running circles around my arm.”

Jeans shout of “So that's what it was!” was drowned in the whole group exploding into a flurry of questions and urges to show the little thing already. Eren had to actually fight the prying hands off his robes unless he wanted to get stripped down to his boxers. “Alright, alright! Calm down already, will you!” he huffed when they had finally calmed down enough to leave their hands off of him. “I'm not sure where it's at now, though, so I don't think I can show you right now. And it's only a little ball of light right now, anyway. Nothing special, right?” he tried to reason with his friends. They looked miffed but nodded along. “Okay. But you'll show us once it's fully developed, right?” Eren nodded. “Of course I will.”

The few of them that already had their soulmate's patronus on them all had shared it with the group, and Eren intended to go along with that little tradition of theirs. It wasn't really something people did, sharing their soulmate's patronus so openly, but they trusted each other with the knowledge and it was just something that made their bond so much stronger than others. Eren felt safe and secure in that, in knowing he could trust his friends with his soulmate's patronus. Many people tried to bribe others with false patronuses in order to earn money, so you had to be careful who you told about your soulmate's patronus.

The rest of the afternoon was spent guessing which form the patronus on Eren's skin would take ultimately and what that indicated about his soulmate's personality. In the end, no one could say anything for sure, but Eren liked to think that it would probably be something he didn't expect. He liked surprises. Most of the time, anyway. And only as long as they weren't bad ones. By the time they went back inside, supper had already started, but the group didn't mind and just found some seats at what would usually be the Hufflepuff table.

“Hey, Armin! Did you start on our transfiguration homework yet?” Sasha asked in between bites of what seemed to be some kind of potato-dish and Eren couldn't help a small laugh. “I did. Did you need help?” Armin smiled, willing to help her out. “I'm not sure if I completely understood what Professor Ral meant when she explained how we could transfigure a thing that was already transfigured, but only if we knew what its original form was? Wouldn't it be enough to know what it was right before we transfigure it?” she looked confused. “That's easy!” Connie jumped in. “You could have asked me, Sash! And I don't even take Transfigurations anymore!” he boasted. “Really?” Sasha gaped and urged him to tell her. Armin just shook his head, a fond smile forming on his face while he listened to Connie explaining the concept to her. It was actually stuff she should have learned last year, if not even the one before that. Not that they would tell her that, though. At one point, Eren threw in a comment to Connie's explanations because he apparently forgot something important, and Jean called him a know-it-all, which ended with the two of them arguing about it for the whole remainder of dinner and, well, into the way back up to their common room up in the tower. They didn't even notice Armin wishing them a good night when he parted ways to get to the Ravenclaw tower on the western side of the castle. They bickered right up until they stood in front of the picture of the fat lady who looked at them in a rather annoyed manner. It was surprising they hadn't hexed each other yet.

“Password?” she droned when it seemed like neither of them would notice they had arrived at their destination elsewise. They both flinched and looked at each other in surprise, before they looked at the fat lady like she was some failed transfiguration or a charm gone awry. “Well?” she inquired when still neither of them said something. Eren snapped out of his stupor first. “Giant wars!” he stated and with and approving smile, the painting swung open to let them in.

They spent the evening at a table by the windows together with the other seventh-years, studying for their N.E.W.T.s and doing homework, helping each other out, but Eren tried to stay under the radar. His mind was on other things that night; mainly the little orb of light wandering over his skin. Throughout the day he had caught glimpses of it in the mirror when it grazed the neckline of his robe or ran over the back of his hands while he was taking notes for his classes. He wondered what it would turn out to be, even though there was no apparent change in its form yet. It was still small and round from what he could tell. Maybe tomorrow there would be a change he hoped, despite knowing that the development of its form could take a while. Mikasa's was only just showing signs of becoming some kind of bird. At least that was what the outer shape seemed to turn out to be, anyway, and she swore she had seen it flutter its still developing wings just yesterday. Eren thought it would probably turn out to be some songbird rather than a bird of prey, but Mikasa would hear none of it when he mentioned it to her. She was determined it would turn out to be a hawk or an eagle. He didn't bother to point out to her that the form of the little light blob was too delicate for that. Besides, in the end she would come to love it anyway.

“I'm going to bed.” he announced and started packing up his things, speaking over the other chatter around their table. His friends looked at him nonplussed, like they only now noticed he had been present at all. Eren didn't mind, though. He just waved them good night and made his way up to his dorm. He needed a little peace and silence and that was usually an impossibility in the common room. His four-poster creaked when he let himself fall face first onto the comfy pillows and he sighed happily.

Finally what had felt like the longest day was over. In a week’s time he would be on the train home for spring break and he would have all the time he wanted to figure out this thing with his soulmate. Maybe whoever it was would even try to contact him? That was, if they already were 17 and knew how to make a decent patronus. Eren already knew the theory behind the patronus charm, but when it came to executing it, he failed. He had tried it only for the first time today, though, so he supposed it was okay for him not to get it right. He knew he needed a very strong, happy memory to exercise it, but apparently what he had been thinking of earlier hadn't been enough. Even though he had thought the thought of getting Mikasa for his sister when his parents adopted her had made him incredibly happy at the time. He still smiled fondly when he thought of it now, though he was sad at the time that his parents didn't adopt her brother, too. He would have liked to have an older brother. In the end it didn't matter though, because Mikasa's brother was allowed to come to visit every now and then so the siblings wouldn't lose contact.

He had tried so hard to let Mikasa feel included and accepted in their family, and she had soon taken to him completely, despite not really knowing any of them before they adopted her. She took to him almost immediately and stuck to him like glue ever since. It had come a bit like a shock to them when the sorting hat had put them not only in different houses, but the ones with the deepest running feuds and prejudices against the other, too. However, they wouldn't let other people tell them they shouldn't spend so much time together anymore, since they weren't even really siblings and should just get over it already. Needless to say Eren had been furious; _how dare they_ tell them what to do and _how dare they_ say that they weren't even real siblings! He loved Mikasa like a sister from the moment she came to live with his family -he wouldn't let anyone talk like that about her or their family! There had been a few spats with people from both their houses who didn't seem to be willing to understand that family bonds were stronger as any animosity present between two houses, before things eventually settled down during the first Christmas they had had at Hogwarts. It had also helped that Mikasa's real brother had a word with those guys, too, though Eren had to admit he still didn't know what had been said back then. He was just happy people started to accept their friendship and left them alone.

Eren muffled a groan with his pillows. He should stop thinking and get changed before the other's decided to call it a night and come to bed, too. He didn't want them eyeing him up and down in hopes to see the patronus on his skin that Jean had -without a doubt- told them about by now. So he quickly got up and changed into his PJ's, which consisted of chequered bottoms and a plain shirt and went to wash up. When he returned a few minutes later, the room was still empty, so he considered himself lucky and slid into bed, shut the curtains to his four-poster with a flick of his wand and a wordless charm. He fell asleep thinking about his soulmate and what they might be like. How they looked, how old they were, what they would be like and if they would get along. Of course, he had thought about all of this even before the little blob of light had shown on his skin, but now that there was a real chance to find them, all those thoughts resurfaced from where he'd buried them before.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ wich means that as of now, for at least the next three months I will have a chapter ready on time :) Of course I'll keep writing so I won't run out of chapters then and you won't end up with longer waiting periods.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 28th of november.  
>    
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com/post/133218506198/your-soul-on-my-skin-ch-2) where you can like and reblog it!
> 
> _ALSO! A very big 'thank you'-hug to my beta,[MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) who is working her way through this even though she isn't a big fan of Harry Potter (can you believe it?!) and said she's still glad she's reading it, even though it's not something she would've picked up otherwise._


	3. Chapter 3

-3-

The next few days flew by for Eren, even though his Professors gave him so much work to do and charms to learn that he had hardly time for anything else. He was thankful for all the work, though. This way, he could occupy his mind and not think too much about the growing patronus on his skin. It had only been a few days, but his seemed to develop faster than Mikasa's. He could already see it would be some kind of four-legged animal. Probably some dog or a big cat or something, but definitely a carnivore, that much he was sure of.

Armin agreed with him on this when he'd seen the patronus the other day. “I'm sure it'll be amazing, Eren. I can't wait for my own birthday.” he had said wistfully and Eren had to pat him on the back and tell him some uplifting words so he wouldn't think about it too much and get himself into a slump. “Yours will be just as amazing, Armin. Just you wait!” Eren smiled. It was no use to try and guess what form exactly the patronus of Armin's soulmate would take once it would start to show, so he didn't say anything about that. He'd leave it to Armin's imagination.

His weekend was spent either in the library, together with Armin and Mikasa and their other friends, studying and working through their essays or up in the Gryffindor common room, where he studied some more. He didn't want to fail in any of his N.E.W.T subjects, so, of course, he put extra hard work in it and even revised stuff from years ago just in case. Sure, they all knew how the exams worked and they had even had a mock exam already, just so they were prepared, but Eren wanted to get good grades, so he worked for them.

He knew he wouldn't graduate from Hogwarts at the top of his graduation class -that would be either Armin or Mikasa. Armin would probably ace all the written exams and most likely the majority of the practical ones, but Mikasa had always been better at the practical stuff than the two of them, so it would most likely be her, Eren figured. Well, he could still come in third though, and he would work hard to achieve that.

All in all, he really hadn't had much time to think about anything but his school work, so he fell to bed each night feeling dead tired and exhausted and usually slept through until his alarm went off at half past six in the morning. However, the night from Sunday to Monday was different.

He had fallen into bed at around midnight after a long study session with the other Gryffindors and was sleeping before his head even hit the pillow, just like everyone else in his dorm, but he woke up again a few hours later with a strange feeling in his chest. Something was wrong, he was sure, but he couldn't tell what it was that bothered him. For a good while he just laid in bed thinking and reasoning with himself that it was probably just a bad dream he'd had and nothing to worry about.

But the feeling wouldn't go away and in the end he gave up, whispered _Lumos_  to have some light to navigate the dorm and left for the common room. It was only half past three and he was dead tired, but he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again, so he might as well get in some more studying, right? He sighed at the thought but still got his things out and went to start on that essay for Ancient Runes that was due on Wednesday. 

For a while it even helped distract him and he really made good progress while the time trickled by slower than he thought it would. Eren was just stretching his aching back when suddenly a silver light shone up, bathing the cosy common room in an unusual light. He nearly jumped out of his chair when he caught sight of the patronus in front of him. His breath hitched and for a moment there he just stared at it blankly, not even realizing that this patronus might actually be here for him. That it might carry a message. When the thought finally registered, he took a deep breath and cocked his head to the side, indicating that the creature had his attention. Only now did he realize that it was a jaguar. Big and with a strong, muscled body, but still lean looking. And though the patronus was shining in its silverish light, Eren knew that this one would have black fur. He almost couldn't distinguish its markings.

The patronus slightly bowed its head, and then a deep and strangely calm voice began to speak.

“Hello. I gather you must've recently turned 17, which is why I can send this to you now. In that light, happy belated birthday, I guess. However, I will have to disappoint you. There's not going to be a birthday present from me. You probably thought I'd want to meet you, now that you're of age. Let me tell you, you're dead wrong with that. I have absolutely no intentions whatsoever to come find you -you're most likely at one of the wizarding schools, anyway, since the school term is still in full swing-, and I ask you not to come looking for me, either. I do not plan on tying myself to someone I have never met before and neither do I wish for that to happen to you. I already have people who I love very much in my life. I do not need any more than that. Please understand. I hope this finds you well, though, and I must once again ask for you not to come find me. If you do, I can assure you I won't acknowledge you in any way. I will not become your lover or best friend or whatever else there is. I will be no one to you, just as you will be no one to me. It will be easier for both of us that way.”

The voice finished and the patronus vanished into thin air, leaving the common room in the comforting warm light of the fireplaces. Strangely enough, as it vanished, so did the uneasy feeling Eren had had since he woke up earlier. He frowned. Had he felt uneasy because his soulmate had cast the patronus charm and the little blob had been gone from his skin? He should have checked, probably. Well, maybe next time, then, he decided and narrowed his eyes at the spot the jaguar had been occupying until just now.

What was that guy saying? Not wanting to meet Eren? Not wanting to be looked for? What was he thinking?! Everyone wanted to meet their soulmate eventually! And besides, the relationships between soulmates didn't always have to be of the romantic kind. There were many pairs that were just best friends. Platonic love was as much a thing as any other kind of love, so that guy really didn't need to be scared. Though it did seem like he'd be a few years older than Eren -which was fine by him, really- the age gap that eventually happened even between soulmates wasn't something frowned upon. People just accepted it when it happened since there wasn't anything to be done about it. However, that wasn't what Eren should be worrying about now.

What he should be worried about was the fact that his soulmate apparently had no intention of meeting him. Not even once. Usually people decided to meet their soulmate at least once to see what they were like and maybe figure something out that would work for the both of them. It hadn't been unheard of that people completely neglected their soulmate right off the bat, but Eren had never thought it could happen to him. Why? Why wouldn't his soulmate want to meet him? He just couldn't understand! The reasons the voice had given him were rather vague and he didn't think he would accept them any time soon, but for now there was nothing he could do about it, seeing as he couldn't cast a proper patronus of his own yet. This was so frustrating! He wanted to send this guy a right royal dressing down -or a howler, even!- but he just couldn't!

What was he supposed to do now?! He huffed and angrily slapped his books shut. He could forget trying to work on that essay for now since he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate at all. And it was impossible to think of going back to sleep. His mind would just end up analysing each and every word he'd just heard anyway, so he could just as well stay down here in the common room and mope for himself. It would be a while still before the others would get up, so he had all the time in the world to get himself back on track and act like nothing had happened. His friends didn't need to know. Not yet, anyway. Eren knew he would at least tell Mikasa and Armin eventually, but for now he wanted to keep this to himself.

He sighed and ruffled his already messy hair, staring into the nearest fireplace. His words _"I have absolutely no intentions whatsoever to come find you."_ kept going round in his head like a mantra, taunting and annoying him. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't wanted, what possibly could make his soulmate want to stay away from him. “No one, huh?” he muttered to himself, remembering the last words the voice had said. He couldn't help but think it was a somewhat familiar voice, that he'd heard it somewhere before, but he couldn’t say for sure. If he had, it must have been a long while ago. Or he was just feeling like that because this was his soulmate's voice and he was supposed to like it. Eren slumped forward, hitting the desk with his forehead and groaned.

In the end, he decided to get dressed and go down to the kitchens for an early breakfast. The house elves would be happy to provide him with scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and tea. Maybe they would even listen to him ramble about his problems and give a few tips on how to handle this dilemma he was in?

“Mr. Yaeger!” the house elves chimed once he stepped into the school's kitchen and started to crowd around him. They were only getting started to prepare the breakfast for the Great Hall, but it seemed they were more than willing to provide him an extra portion to eat down here. So Eren found a comparably quiet corner at an out-of-the-way table and watched the house elves work while he ate. Occasionally, one would come over to him and ask if he needed anything or if they could get him some more tea, but Eren declined every time. It didn't stop them, though.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ wich means that as of now, for at least the next three months I will have a chapter ready on time :)
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 12th of december.  
>    
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it!
> 
>  
> 
> _Again, a very big 'thank you'-hug to my beta,[MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) who is working her way through this even though she isn't a big fan of Harry Potter (can you believe it?!) and said she's still glad she's reading it, even though it's not something she would've picked up otherwise._
> 
>  
> 
> On a more personal note; I'm in a hospital right now an I'll probably have to stay here for at least 3 weeks, so it might take me a little while to reply to your comments. Don't worry though, I'll be fine :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> accidentaly deleted the chapter QAQ  
> Sorry, everyone!  
> The real update to ch 5 will be tomorrow!  
>  ~~Also, this is still unbetad~~
> 
> Edit 27.12: Now the betad version.

-4-

The house elves noticed that something was off about him pretty early on and tried to express their concerns by trying to prepare all his favourite foods for breakfast, but they were sad to see it didn't seem to help. It wasn't until Eren was done eating that one of them came over to stand by the table and looked at him with big, concerned eyes.

“Is Master Eren doing okay? He seems to be sad.” the elf asked tentatively and Eren offered a tired smile. “Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't sleep very well tonight.” he slumped in his seat and tried to hold back a yawn. “And I guess you could say I am? I don't really know...”

“Master Eren needs his sleep. He needs to take care of himself.”

“One sleepless night won't kill me, Tam. But I promise, I'll make sure to try and sleep through tonight.” He wondered if he could, though. What if his soulmate sent another patronus? What if he was woken in the dead of the night again, only to find himself facing that luminescent jaguar again and having to listen to the voice of his soulmate who didn't want to have anything to do with him? He frowned. Of course, the chance of that happening was abysmal, but one could never know, right?

“Master Eren?”

“Sorry, Tam. I was just thinking.” Eren apologized, “It's just, it doesn't seem like my soulmate wants to meet me at all. He sent his patronus last night, telling me not to come looking for him and that he won't acknowledge me in any way if I did. Can you believe it?!”

“Tam is sorry for Master Eren to have to learn that. Maybe his soulmate needs a while to get used to the thought?” the little elf offered, wringing his hands in distress for Eren.

“Thank you, but I don't think so. He did make himself pretty clear. His exact words were _'I do not plan on tying myself to someone I have never met before and neither do I wish for that to happen to you. I already have people who I love very much in my life. I do not need any more than that.'_ I don't think there's anything there to misunderstand, Tam.” Eren repeated the patronus' words and pouted. The elf deflated visibly at that. “Maybe Master Eren wants to send his own patronus and try to talk to his soulmate?” Hopeful eyes stared at Eren.

“Trust me, I want to. But I haven't mastered the spell yet. My memory isn't strong enough.”

“Tam is sure Master Eren will find a strong enough memory soon. He needs to keep trying.”

Eren laughed. “Yeah well, maybe once the school year is done and the N.E.W.T.s are over, Tam. For now, I have way too much other stuff to worry about.” he smiled and got up. It was still too early for his classes to start, but he wanted to go up to the Great Hall and spend a little time with his friends. He felt a little better now that he had talked to someone. Sure, he was still upset, but he was sure that now he could face the day without giving his secret away.

When he sat down at the table, most of his friends where already there and mostly done with eating. Well, except for Sasha, but there was no surprise there. He was greeted by a round of mumbled “Morning”-s and nods in his direction and he responded with a tired smile. Of course, Mikasa would momentarily pick up on this and question him about it. “Are you okay, Eren? Jean said you weren't in bed this morning when he got up.” Eren frowned. “I'm usually up and awake before he rises from the dead, Mikasa.” he pointed out. “Yes, but usually you are still in the room, getting dressed or something.” Jean argued. “Yeah, well. I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, so I went to the kitchen for an early breakfast.” he shrugged, not wanting to go into detail. Mikasa at least seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded. Eren was sure she'd probably come to him later and ask why exactly he was up so early, but he'd just say he'd had a bad dream or something. She would believe that. For now, anyway. Jean seemed to be accepting that as well and they went back to concentrate on their breakfast while Eren decided to just quietly nurse another cup of tea and listen to their chatter.

Classes flew by quickly enough, though Eren still felt like potions had been taking forever. Time just wouldn't pass, the hand on the clock seemingly not moving at all whenever he sneaked a glance. Usually Eren thought of Professor Hanji's lessons as interesting and even entertaining when they were in one of their moods where they would let the class experiment with ingredients rather than stick to the book. Those classes normally ended with at least one explosion and more than one singed eyebrow for their Professor, but since they didn't seem to mind, neither did their students. That morning, however, they seemed to have decided to actually teach them stuff they would need for their exams, and though Eren wasn't too bad at potions in general, he still messed up the draught of living death they were supposed to brew.

“Are you sure you're alright?” Mikasa asked when she saw the state Eren's potion was in, lifting one eyebrow in question. Eren huffed in annoyance. “Yes. I just didn't sleep very well last night. It's getting to me, probably.” Mikasa frowned at that. “You should go to bed earlier tonight.” she recommended and went to stand beside him, scrutinizing his potion. “I could help you with that.” she offered, but Eren shook his head. “Nah, thanks. I can do it. Just-” he yawned, “a moment, 'kasa.” She sighed but nodded and returned to her own cauldron. Of course, her own attempt on the potion was in a perfect state, but Eren wasn't envious. Why would he be? He knew that if he weren't sleep deprived he could probably do it just as well. For now though, he contended himself with saving his potion. Or at least tried not to mess it up any more than he already had.

Reading over the instructions in his book, he frowned. Had he already stirred it or had Mikasa interrupted him before he could? Deciding to rather be safe than sorry -though there actually was no such thing with potions- he picked up his ladle and stirred twice clockwise. To his relieve, the potion didn't undergo any significant change, so Eren continued by adding more of the ingredients, only for the potion to immediately turn an ugly shade of green.

He wasn't sure if he should have been lucky that the Professor walked by his table just then or not. “Oh, Mr. Yaeger, that's an interesting colour, but I'm sure living death shouldn't look like this at any time during brewing!” they smiled kindly and Eren nodded in defeat. “I know. I'm not sure what I did wrong, though. It seemed to be fine until after I stirred it. When I added the sloth brain it immediately turned to look like this.” he waved his hand at the cauldron. “Hmm.” Professor Hanji eyed the potion and Eren's ingredients, then shook their head. “Try stirring counter clockwise thrice and add another drop of the bean juice. It should do the trick.” they finally suggested and Eren nodded. It's not like he had anything to loose anyway.

“Oh! Mr. Yaeger! I see you gained your soulmate's patronus?” Eren had been sure the Professor was on their way over to the next troubled student, but apparently, not. He had pulled up the sleeves of his robe and just now the little silver _something_ had made an appearance on his right forearm. “Uh, yes. Last week, actually. Just a day after my birthday. It's not fully developed yet, though.” Eren pulled his sleeves back down, covering the patronus. “Wonderful!” they practically vibrated on their spot, eager to learn more.

It wasn't exactly a secret that their potions Professor was a little obsessed with the soulmate's patronuses and had done more than a little research on the topic, so Eren knew that he was in for a long onslaught of questions. “What do you think it's going to be? Would you let me do some tests once it's fully developed? Can I see it? Oh I would love to do some more research on this!” they nattered on, not giving Eren any chance to actually answer their questions. “I'm sorry, Professor. I don't really have an idea about what it's going to be yet.” That was a blatant lie -he had just seen it a few hours ago- but he wasn't going to tell the truth to his Professor. At least they didn't seem too perturbed by that and just nodded. They knew developing the patronus could take some time. And it hadn't even been a week yet, after all. “Of course, Mr. Yaeger.” they nodded, still eyeing his arm curiously, which prompted Eren to hide it behind his back for the time being.

“Professor, help!” some other student called just then, and Eren was glad he was relieved of this sudden onslaught of prying questions. He sighed and turned back to his cauldron, noticing that the potion inside had turned from a mouldy green to an even darker shade.

By the end of the lesson, he hadn't managed to safe his potion. But that wasn't that much of a problem, seeing as the holidays were only a few days away and he would be on his way home soon enough. He could manage for another two or three days.

“I'm not hungry.” he announced when they were on their way to the Great Hall for lunch. He would much rather find a quiet nook and take a nap. Rest a little before his afternoon classes started. However, Mikasa would have none of it. “You need to eat something, Eren.” she frowned and actually pulled him along, because he was dragging his feet and moved at an infuriatingly slow pace. “You'll leave me alone for the rest of the day, if I do.” he ordered and was surprised to actually get a nod out of her. He hadn't this expected to be quite so easy. “Fine. But you'll tell me what's really up with you tomorrow. I'll allow you to mope for the rest of today and tonight. Just promise not to do something reckless, Eren.” she said, looking at him over her shoulder. Eren slumped. So she had noticed after all and just let him belief she thought he was fine. “Deal.” he muttered in defeat and picked up his pace. Now that the decision was made, he wanted to get this over with. Sure, he still wasn't hungry, but he would eat something to get her off his case for a little longer.

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ~~still unbetad~~ but probably going to be fixed tomorrow, same as ch4.  
>  other than that, have fun with Levi's Pov! :)
> 
> Edit 27.12: Now the betad version.

 -5-

The curse whizzing past almost hit him this time. Seemed like the guy's aim has gotten better since the last time they had had an encounter. Levi frowned and put up a shield charm. This one had hit too close to home for comfort, and his partner was nowhere to be seen. “Fuck!” he muttered and sent a curse in the direction of the wizard he and his partner had been tracking for days now.

“You missed, Auror Ackermann!” the wizard laughed and sent a few more curses Levi's way. Had he not had his shield charm, he'd be out cold now, Levi was sure. He saw the red light of a stunner whiz by, as well as one or two disarming spells. Luckily, his shield was strong enough to hold off more than a few curses before it would start fraying at the edges and he'd need to recast it.

The wizard was good, Levi had to give him that, but he was better still. He had always been good at duelling, even back in school when they were first introduced to it and had excelled at it soon, so he had no doubt that he'd be victorious this time around, too.

And no, he wasn't being arrogant about it, it was just a matter of fact. He was that good. When he had graduated Hogwarts, many different departments had fought over him, but he had been adamant in his decision to join the Aurors. That was what he had wanted from the beginning, that was what he had been working for so hard for in school. There was no way he would let all this time studying and agonizing over it go to waste.

“Are you sure about that?” he bit back, knowing that he hadn't missed at all. He hadn't been aiming for the wizard, after all.

“Well, you didn't hit me, so, yes.” came the taunting answer and Levi shook his head. Idiot, not paying attention to his surroundings.

Levi had transfigured a dresser into a cage large enough for the wizard to fit in. now he only needed to push him back a little bit and the man would stumble right into it.

“That's because I didn't aim for you, Kenny.” Levi smirked behind his shield charm and then sent a few spells in quick succession at the wizard, backing him in the direction of the transfigured cage. The man managed to block them with a quickly done shield charm of his own, but it wasn't nearly as strong as Levi's, so it dropped as soon as Levi's last spell hit it.

Immediately Levi advanced on him, closing the distance between them with his wand raised and aimed at the other wizard, who instinctively backed up. He was almost in the cage now. But then, Kenny grinned dangerously and Levi noticed the trap that had been laid out for him too late.

“Shit!” he cursed and jumped back, but it was too late. The trap snapped shut and Levi was caught in an anti-magic circle. His shield was gone and he was wide open and vulnerable to any magic the wizard would choose to throw at him. He hissed and lowered his wand. It wouldn't do him any good to try and use magic now -it would just shrink what little room he had to move around in.

“Bastard!”

Where was his partner when he needed him? He frowned. He wouldn't call out to the man, sure that the wizard thought Levi had come alone and he wouldn't want to spoil the surprise moment that would be on their side should Mike decide to show up and help him.

Kenny laughed. It was a shrill, unpleasant sound and Levi was tempted to cover his ears so he wouldn't have to hear it, but who knew what else he'd miss if he did. So he waited, glaring daggers at the man and hoped Mike would show up soon.

“You done laughing?” he hissed, once the wizard seemed to have calmed down.

“Oh, I think I am. Now, tell me, where is your partner, Auror Ackermann?” the man grinned.

“I don't have a partner.” Levi frowned.

“Nonsense! Every Auror has a partner.” the wizard spit back. Levi shrugged.

“I don't. I'm working alone ever since I finished my training a few weeks ago.”

That was as blatant a lie as it could get, but he was good enough to be believed that lie. He could hold his own in every duel so far, and he could handle any situation thrown at him, having passed his final tests with bravado. The wizard frowned.

“You're lying.” It sounded hesitant, though, so Levi counted that as a win. He settled for another shrug, intending to leave the man brooding.

“I could be, true. There's an easy way for you to figure that out, though.” he raised a brow, daring Kenny to say what he was insinuating. “What are you saying?” Levi huffed. Apparently the wizard wasn't as clever as he had made himself out to be.

Crossing his arms in front of him, Levi looked at him defiantly. “You know what I'm saying, Kenny.” The man in question frowned and stepped closer to the circle Levi was trapped in. “No, I don't, so would you do me the honour of enlightening me?” he leant forward, looming over Levi, but still staying away from the anti-magic circle. Levi tutted.

“Well, I heard you were a master with the Imperius curse. Surely you could use it on me to make me tell you the truth?” Levi almost smiled.

“Well, you're not wrong, but if I did and released you from the curse, it would make my time in Azkaban that much more unpleasant were I to get caught.” Kenny frowned.

“It will be unpleasant either way.”

“I suppose that much is true.” Levi nodded along and relaxed a little. He still wondered what was taking Mike so long, but he couldn't let that show.

“Maybe I should do it...” the wizard wondered out loud, looking at him in an indecisive manner. Levi stayed silent, awaiting the man's decision.

Kenny swirled his wand around between his fingers, before he suddenly raised it and pointed it at Levi. No doubt he wanted to get a reaction from Levi, but he just stared at Kenny impassively, seemingly not caring that he was about to be hit with an unforgivable curse. Kenny frowned.

“How can you be so calm? I've got you trapped in an anti-magic circle! You can't use any magic! I'm about to hit you with a curse and make you my puppet! You should be begging me to stop!” he inquired.

Levi shrugged. He wasn't calm by any means; he just didn't let his nervousness show. That was completely different. Not wanting to give Kenny the satisfaction of knowing that, he kept silent, just staring at him and wordlessly daring him to cast the curse. It seemed to do the trick, too, because when Kenny started to speak again, the first syllable to leave his mouth was “Im-” However, he never got around to finish the curse, being hit in the back by a body bind curse, courtesy of Mike.

“You okay, Levi?” he asked when he came jogging up to him. Levi nodded.

“Just peachy. Now, could you get me out of here?” He had stood in this circle long enough, hadn't he?

Mike frowned. “Anti-magic circle? Really, Levi? You didn't get trapped in one in forever.” it almost sounded jovial, but Mike flicked his wand and lifted the spell either way.

“Thank you, Mike.” Levi decided to ignore the jibe against his competence and instead glanced down at Kenny. “We should get him to the ministry while he's still under the spell.” he said, but despite that conjured up some ropes that wound tight around the wizard -they would keep him from moving once the body bind wore off. He also cast a silencing charm and took away Kenny's wand, not wanting to take any risks with that man.

Levi was doing paper work all night after Kenny's arrest. Mike had gone home some time around midnight, but Levi had stayed, wanting to finally finish that case's paper work and be free of it. He worked diligently until the early morning hours before he finally closed the last folder and shoved it up on the table, away from him and leant back in his chair. With a flick of his wrist and he muttered charm he reheated his long since gone cold tea and took a sip.

He felt the day's stress seep out of him and he allowed himself to let his thoughts drift a little. Today's events had shown him yet again that his job was dangerous, that he was constantly at risk for being hit by a multitude of curses and could end up in St. Mungo's or in a casket any day. It had only strengthened the decision he had made when he started working for the ministry.

He wouldn't go look for his soulmate. He didn't want to put them through the grieve and pain should something happen to him, though that wasn't the only reason behind the decision, if he was being honest. He didn't want to be weighed down. If people knew he had found his soulmate, they would undoubtedly try to harm them in order to get Levi to cooperate. His soulmate would become a target, and he didn't wish for that to happen to anyone. Levi didn't want to be the reason his soulmate could be hurt, especially seeing as they apparently were a few years younger than him. He wished for them to be happy, even without him, though so far there hadn't been any danger for them anyway, since apparently they weren't of age yet. He just wanted them safe and protected, far from any harm that could come to them because of him.

At least the last time Levi checked he hadn't been able to send his patronus over to them, telling them that he didn't wish to find or even meet them. Thinking of the orca residing on his skin, he allowed himself a sad smile. He was sure his soulmate was a wonderful person and would understand his wish. Looking over his desk he decided to give it another try. The only thing that could happen was his patronus not being able to find Levi's soulmate because they still weren't of age. So he picked up his wand, thought of his happiest memory and cast the charm.

“Are you able to find my soulmate?” was the first thing he asked the black jaguar, and the silver creature bowed its head. Levi's eyes went wide like saucers for a moment. His soulmate was finally of age, which would make them around three years younger than him. That wasn't all that much, he decided and nodded. “Good. I have a message for them.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, I hope y'all won't be too mad at Levi anymore, now that you know some of his reasons. I really tried to make them seem believable, but I'm not too sure I managed that pretty well? Also, I'm still holding back some more parts to it to be revealed at a later point. You'll just have to wait and see x3
> 
> Also, thank you to anyone who has left kudos and commented on this fic so far! It really means a lot to me and seeing new comments always makes me very happy and want to write more for you guys x3
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ wich means that as of now, for at least the next few months I will have a chapter ready on time :)
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 9th of january.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Levi pov :3  
>  ~~again unbetad, but will probably be fixed tomorrow or the day after that, so please be patient ^^"~~
> 
> Edit 10.01: Now the betad version

-6-

Levi felt his patronus dissolve after it had delivered the message. He sighed. Now he could only hope that his soulmate would accept his wish and not come looking for him. At least, he wouldn't get a visit from the patronus of his soulmate anytime soon. So far, he had never even once -in the three years since having it- felt the little light creature on his skin leave him. And he had made it a habit to always know where it currently resided on him. But if his soulmate had only recently turned 17, that would mean they hadn't learned the spell yet and probably would, soon. Which meant, that Levi would eventually get a visit from the orca he was so familiar with already. He stifled a yawn and decided to get home. A few hours of sleep would do him good, he decided.

The next few days were a bit calmer and he hadn't gone on a mission since the capture of Kenny. Mike and he had spent those days mostly going over the paper work again and talking about the case with the other Aurors. Kenny's capture had been all over the news and the daily prophet had pages full of articles featuring the wizard, as well as the Aurors who captured him. Levi wasn't too happy about that, but he couldn't really do something about it. He wouldn't talk to the reporters, so they had to make up their own ideas of what had happened while Mike wasn't around. There were some wild theories going around the wizarding community, but he couldn't care less, really. Mike and his boss knew, and that was all that mattered, so he could ignore all the incessant reporters, nattering their questions in his ears while he and Mike were on their way to Kenny's public hearing. Either of them would speak on that day, but it was mandatory for them to be around nonetheless -to show the strength of the ministry, and, more specifically, the Auror department.

On their way down to the hearing room, they ran into Isabel and Farlan, two fellow Aurors who had graduated together with Levi and had been his best friends in Hogwarts. They hadn't really had time to talk lately, and Levi felt bad about that, but the hearing had been on his mind way too much, not to mention his soulmate. He worried about them, even if he would never admit it out loud. No one knew yet that he had sent them his patronus and told them he didn't want to get to know them and that they should stay away from him. If either of them knew what he had done, they would most likely go for his head, because they thought everyone needed their soulmate. And Levi, so completely disregarding his own, just wasn't something that would be allowed to happen. If he didn't try to make it work, they would.

“Hey, Levi!” Farlan's voice pulled him back to the present. “Mike.” the blond nodded to Levi's partner in greeting and Isabel followed suit before she completely ignored Levi's preference of personal space and tackled him in a hug. “We haven't seen you in days, idiot! Come home once in a while, will you?” she chastised him. “I did though.” They just hadn't noticed because every time he _had_ been home he'd only been there to change his clothes or for a quick nap before he had headed back to work again. The week before Kenny's capture had been busy, and while things had calmed down somewhat since then, they weren't completely back to normal yet, either. Isabel glared at him for a second and then let him go. “Fine. You have time this weekend? You do have a few days off, right? We should do something together, just the three of us!” “Izzy! If Levi has a few days off, I'm sure he'll want to spend them with his sister. You remember it's Easter next week so she gets to come home from Hogwarts. Isn't that right, Levi?” Farlan helped Levi out and he shot him a grateful glance.

As much as he loved his friends, he loved his sister even more, even if they didn't get to see each other as often anymore since he had graduated from Hogwarts three years ago. The last time he'd seen her was at her adoptive family's Christmas dinner. Which was months ago, really, and he still wasn't used to not being able to have an eye on her after all these years. Of course he knew Mikasa was save with the Yaeger's and at Hogwarts, but a part of him would always worry. She had been such a delicate little girl when she was a child. And though now she was a fierce young woman who could beat anyone in a duel -except for him, of course- he still saw the little girl he had to say goodbye to when they had been adopted by different families. Levi guessed he should be thankful that both families didn't want to tear the siblings apart completely and allowed them to meet once or twice a month.

“Farlan's right, Isabel. Mika's on break starting tomorrow, so she and Eren will be back in Bristol for two weeks.” Isabel pouted. This meant she wouldn't get time to spend with Levi for a while longer. “Fine.” she huffed, “But we'll go out for drinks some time next week.” That was an order and Levi knew it. It didn't bother him, though. Once he'd had some quality sibling-bonding time with his baby sister, he'd allow Izzy to drag him along for drinks. “Okay.” he agreed and continued down the corridor that would led them to the hearing room. There was still some time before it started, but it was always better to be on time.

The hearing went as Levi had expected it to, and when it was over, he was grateful that his workday was officially over and he had a few days of peace and quiet. He'd earned it, too, he thought. Wishing good bye to Mike and his two best friends, he made his way up to the atrium and took one of the floos home. He could have apparated, but he felt tired like hell, and when there was one thing you shouldn't do, it was apparating when you didn't feel well. He could end up splinching himself and he'd rather not do that now when he was only days away from seeing his sister again.

Arriving at his flat, he did a routine check on the wards he'd put in place when he first moved in, and seeing that, they were still undisturbed, relaxed and allowed himself to get comfortable in his living room. It was still early afternoon, so he had some time to spare before he'd need to get started on dinner. He set an alarm for 6.30 pm and decided to take a nap. Or well, try to take a nap. He needed to catch up on his sleep, or else Mikasa would hound him about overworking himself again when they met.

Levi had promised Mikasa he'd be on the platform when the train from Hogwarts arrived, but he regretted doing it. The platform was swamped with parents and little children waiting for their loved ones, and though Levi was one of them himself, he rather stayed out of the way and found a spot a little more secluded where he could lean on the wall and have an eye out on the masses until the train would arrive in a few minutes. He had already spotted the Yaeger's and greeted them, but he preferred to wait on his own. Carla and Grisha weren't very far though; Levi had a good view on them so he wouldn't miss it when Mikasa and Eren found them.

Not too much later, he heard the tell-tale sound of the train's horn announcing its arrival at the station and Levi pulled himself up to his full height in order to not lose sight of the Yaeger's. It wasn't easy, though, being as short as he was. Hell, even his sister had long since grown taller than him! But he dealt with it the way he always did with things he couldn't help change. He ignored them and put on the air of a rude, gruff man who wasn't easily approachable. Only very few people knew that this was an act he put up so he wouldn't get hurt. So immersed in his thoughts he didn't notice the train stopping and opening the doors, a mass of robed children and teenagers pouring out to the platform and trying to find their families, he completely lost sight of the Yaeger's. He tutted. Unprofessional.

There were shouts and cheers everywhere and families reuniting and Levi had a hard time singling the Yaeger's out again, but luckily they hadn't ventured too far from their previous spot so he eventually spotted them just as they spotted Mikasa and Eren jumping out of one of the coaches. With his eyes trained on the back of Grisha's head, Levi slowly made his way over so the family could have a minute or two to themselves before he joined them. He slowly weaved in between people and around trolleys laden with trunks and when he was close enough to actually discern their voices from those of all the other people around them, he relaxed a little.

Mikasa sounded just fine, though he could only be sure once he saw her face. Eren seemed to be his usual bright self and Levi allowed himself a small smile once he stepped up to the family.

“Brother!” Mikasa was the first to spot him and immediately came up to him to wrap him in a hug. “Mikasa. It's good to see you.” he rested his chin on her shoulder and hugged her back. Something he only ever did for her. Everyone else got a pat on the back at most. “How have you been? I saw what they wrote in the prophet! You need to tell us what really happened! You weren't hurt, right?” Levi sighed. So she had been worried. Even though he had told her not to. He had been fine. A little exhausted and sleep deprived, yes, but, over-all, fine. Nothing a regular sleep schedule and proper meals couldn't fix.

“I am fine, Mika. You don't need to worry about me so much. I can handle myself.” he huffed and let her go with a gentle pat on the back. Mikasa watched him for a second, clearly taking in the bags under his eyes and the pallor of his skin before she nodded. “Okay. I'll try not to.” “Thank you.” Levi offered her a smile before he turned to the rest of the family, who seemed to be done with reuniting and had watched the rest of their exchange. “Grisha, Carla.” he nodded to the two people who had become his sister's parents after their own had died and then settled his eyes on their son, “Hey, Eren.” The brunette sported the same messy and dishevelled look as ever and Levi couldn't say he minded; it gave him some kind of charm, he supposed.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whelp, hope you liked it! 
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ wich means that as of now, I'll have a chapter for you until the start of april :3 pretty good, huh? x)
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 23rd of january.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it!
> 
> _ALSO! A very big 'thank you'-hug to my beta,[MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) who is working her way through the messes of my writing with so much patience. I don't know what I'd do without her x3 _


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surpriiise!  
> I know I said update day was the 23rd, but matters changed on my end and I won't be able to update at all for at least the next month or so.  
> This is why I decided I'll give all of you this chapter now so you have a little something to last you until then :)  
> We're back to Eren's POV! Have fun! :3

-7-

Coming home for the holidays always felt a little like being torn apart to Eren. He loved his house and the big garden where Mikasa, Levi, and him had used to play as children, but he loved Hogwarts just as much, seeing as he spent nine months out of twelve living in the castle. Now that he was on his way back to Bristol, his friends all around him in the shared compartment, he tried not to think about it too much and stay in the present. He could wallow tonight when he was back home and in his own bed. That would also be the time he would start to seriously think about what he'd do about his soulmate. During the week, he had managed to keep his friends off his case, except for Mikasa and Armin, but that had been predictable.

When he'd told them during their shared free period on Tuesday, Mikasa had been fuming with silent anger, while Armin tried to be objective and find an explanation for it. Eren had mostly stayed silent then, only nodded or shook his head to Armin's suggestions and otherwise tried to study.

“And you're sure that's what it said? You couldn't have misunderstood?” Armin pressed once again and Eren frowned. “I told you, Armin. It's exactly what he said. You can use your legilimency if you want to, but that won't change what happened.”

Armin glared at him. “You know I won't do that, Eren.”

“Well, then stop asking the same things over and over again. They won't change just because you don't want to believe it. Trust me, I don't want to, either, and I was there.” Eren huffed. Armin and Mikasa both sighed, sensing that they should probably stop questioning Eren for now, or else his temper might get the best of him, and that would be no good in the library. Mrs. Brzenska would throw them out sooner than they could say Quidditch.

Staring out at the landscape flying by, Eren listened to the quiet conversations between his friends, content to stay on the sidelines and not get too involved. The group seemed to have realized that it wouldn't be of any use to try and rope Eren into their talks. He would just nod or shake his head occasionally, his mind clearly somewhere else, so they let him be. At first he didn't even notice when the train rolled into Kings Cross and everyone started to get up and out to meet their families.

“Hey Eren, we're here.” Mikasa shook him gently to get him out of his reverie. He blinked, for a moment confused about his surroundings, before he got his bearings and nodded. “Ah, yeah. I'm coming.” he gave a tight smile and followed her out. That would give him a moment to slip into the act he had adopted during the last week.

Smiling like nothing was wrong in the world and seemingly happy to be able to see his parents for a few weeks he jumped off the train after his sister and looked around the crowd, trying to spot them and Mikasa's brother, who'd be here to meet her, too. Mikasa spotted them first, with Grisha waving them over so they wouldn't lose sight of him and Carla in the masses of bodies. Eren's smile lit up, radiating happiness when he was pulled into a hug first by Grisha and then his mom. Mikasa was next and then Carla wrapped him up in her arms again when Mikasa spotted her brother and rushed to greet him. “It's so good to see you two again! I hope you have been well?” she inquired and Eren nodded at her shoulder. “Of course we are.” Eren patted her on the back and wiggled out of her grasp, even though he had to admit he enjoyed the hug.

He watched Mikasa's reunion with her brother, which took slightly longer than the one with their parents, but he guessed that was okay. The two of them had always been close, and even more so when Mikasa had started attending Hogwarts and even being sorted into the same house as him. Eren had never been jealous, though. If anything, he was happy for them then, just like he was now. He smiled at Levi when he greeted him, feeling a little better with all the stuff going on in his life now that he was with his family. “Hey Levi!” he grinned and threw an arm over Levi's shoulders, ignoring the older's seemingly annoyed eye roll. Eren didn't let himself be fooled though. He knew Levi was just putting up an act and secretly enjoyed the attention -judging by the way he leaned into the half-hug for a second or two before pulling away again, at least.

“You guys have everything?” Grisha checked their luggage and Mikasa and Eren nodded in unison. “Good, then we should get going.” Carla charmed the trunks into pocket-size and added a weight charm so they wouldn't be as heavy and wouldn't be in the way when they apparated. Then she handed them to her children.

“Levi? Will you be joining us for dinner?” she asked before she set out for the apparition points at the end of the platform. Grisha fell in step beside her and Levi, Mikasa, and Eren followed after them.

“That would be wonderful, Carla.” Levi nodded and Mikasa seemed to be happy about being able to spend a little more time with her brother. Eren smiled and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, walking alongside his sister to the apparition point. It would be the first time he actually apparated home by himself, not side-along with his mother. He was pretty confident though that he would manage just fine.

Mikasa side-eyed him, obviously worrying again and Eren rolled his eyes at her. “I'm fine, don't you even dare to ask, 'kasa.” he huffed and stepped up to the point. With a wave and a too happy smile he turned on his heel and disapparated. The feeling of being forced through a very tight rubber tube luckily wasn't anything new to him anymore, so he didn't really feel nauseous when he appeared on the front step of his home, only slightly unwell. He quickly stepped away from the spot, knowing that his parents, Mikasa and Levi would follow momentarily.

Dinner was rather loud, with Eren and Mikasa both talking about their classes and the weird quirks of their Professors. Even Levi chimed in once or twice, asking if some of the Professors he'd known where still teaching or sharing a few anecdotes from his own time at Hogwarts. Most of the things he told Eren and Mikasa, they knew already -they had been right there when they happened, after all- but they still listened intently.

Once it came to an end though and the conversation dwindled, Eren sobered up somewhat, remembering the message his soulmate had sent him. He hadn't told his parents yet -really, who would do that during dinner?- and he wasn't sure he would any time soon. He frowned at his plate. “I'm done. Can I go up to my room and unpack?” he asked, a fake smile on his lips. He needed a little alone time right now. Before he blurted everything out to his parents and Levi. It's not that he didn't trust them; he did, but he didn't want to get them involved if he didn't absolutely have to. Mikasa gave him a dubious look but ultimately let him go.

So he picked up his plate, took it to the kitchen and then made his way up to his room. It looked just like he'd left it after New Year's. There wasn't even a speck of dust though, thanks to his mum's cleaning. Eren smiled and plopped down on his bed. The sheets smelled like they were freshly washed and like home and he relaxed, letting the stress of the last week seep out of his bones. For a minute or two he stayed on his bed, before he got up and started unpacking, all the while frowning and glaring at his clothes and books, until there was a tentative knock on his door and Mikasa peeked inside.

“You okay, Eren?” she asked and Eren looked her over for a moment before he shook his head.

“Not really. It's nagging me, Mika. I know that voice. I _know_ it.” Ever since he had come home the feeling had become stronger and stronger, “I just can't place it anywhere.” He frowned. By now he was sure he had heard his soulmate's voice somewhere before, he just couldn't place a finger on where.

Mikasa opened the door fully and stepped in, unceremoniously dropping down on his bed, with Levi following close behind her. Eren hadn't noticed Levi standing right behind her, listening to every word he had said, but he couldn't exactly take them back, so he just hoped it would be okay. Even though it was nothing unusual for the siblings to show up in his room together and neither was the fact that brother and sister sat close to each other, either -Mikasa even leant against him for support. The train ride had been draining for her, too.

“What are you guys talking about?” Levi wanted to know. Eren shook his head.

“Nothing, Levi.”

Levi frowned. That was as blatant a lie as it could get, and Eren knew Levi knew it. “Bullshit, Eren.” he glared at him, “You should know better than this to lie to me.”

Mikasa nodded along. “He's right, Eren. Why don't you just tell him? Maybe he could even help you?”

“Doubt it.” Eren huffed and threw the last of his clothes into his dresser. That earned him a scolding look from Levi, but he really didn't care about that at the moment. “Oh come on. What's up?” Levi prodded but Eren kept shaking his head. “Seriously now? You disappoint me, Eren.”

And it were those words that made Eren blanch. He paled, becoming white as a sheet of blank paper. Then he shook his head again, trying to get rid of the idea that just materialized in his mind. It couldn't be, though, could it?

Mikasa was immediately alarmed by the change of colour on his face, but Eren couldn't react to her questions of if he was okay and what was going on. He just stared blankly into the space in front of him, not really recognizing his surroundings, until Mikasa shook him out of his mini stupor. “Eren! Don't scare me like that! What's going on? Are you okay?” she demanded again and all Eren could do was look at her hazel eyes and try to wordlessly convey that _no, he was not okay and could they please just leave him alone?_ She didn't seem to understand, so he tried to use his words, even if they came out rather shaky.

“I... yes, I'm. -I'm okay. You don't need to worry, Mikasa.”

Both, Levi and her, eyed him warily, obviously not believing a word he said. But he wouldn't tell them. Couldn't. Mikasa opened her mouth to say something again, but Eren shook his head, cutting her off.

“No. Really. I -”

“Eren, whatever it is, it's obviously not okay.” Levi argued, but Eren didn't let that deter him from what he wanted -needed- to say.

“I am fine. Please, could you just leave me alone for tonight? I'm tired and honestly, I really just want to sleep right now.” He really needed to be alone right now. Needed to think about things. Mikasa was still looking intently at him, trying to determine if he really would be okay. And to be honest, a part of him wanted to tell her what was going on, but he couldn't. Not with Levi in the room, at least. “Please?” he asked again when neither of them seemed willing to move and he glanced at Levi, hoping, Mikasa would understand this hint for what it was. Her eyes shone up with realization and then she nodded.

“Okay, Eren. But if you need anything, just call me, okay?” she gave him a quick hug and wished him good night, before she pulled a protesting Levi along, out of Eren’s room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATES: _Will presume in ca five weeks from now._   
>  There's a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it!
> 
> I hope you all liked the chapter, and maybe some of your suspicions were proven true? :D At least I would like to think so! I'm sorry you'll have to wait so long for the next update, but I'm sure you will survive ;)  
> I think I mentioned a while before that I was staying in the hospital? Well; I was home for the last week and I'll be back in the hospital starting the 21st. I will be staying for about 8-10 weeks this time around, and I'm only allowed a first weekend home in the 5th week. I will update then (maybe even two chapters bc of the long wait, but I'm not sure yet). I will also keep writing while I'm there, though since I'm not allowed to take my laptop with me, I will have to use pen&paper so everything I'll write will need to be copied once I get home. Which is probably going to be tedious work but oh well. I'll manage xD  
> And maybe I should mention that I'm not in danger of dying or anything like that. I'm not comfortable sharing the reason for going to the hospital, but please just know that I'll be alright and that you don't need to worry :)
> 
> If anyone wants to chat with me, you can all drop by on my tumblr, and I'll also try and answer all of your comments here, though that might take me a little while :)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _ALSO! A very big 'thank you'-hug to my beta,[MrsLittsy](http://mrslittsy.tumblr.com/) who beta-read this on short notice and did an awesome job, as always! x3 _


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wohooo! Update time!
> 
> I'm back for the weekend so, as I promised back in january, have a new chapter! :3  
>  ~~This is unbetad since I couldnt get in touch with my beta, but I hope I can fix it tomorrow. And if not, in two weeks for sure when the next update is due~~ :D So please bear with me until then x3
> 
> Now betad!

-8-

Dinner with the Yaeger's had always been something to look forward to, so he was happy Carla had invited him over. He loved listening to the good natured back and forth between Carla and Grisha, as well as Eren's and Mikasa's stories from Hogwarts. He liked hearing about his old teachers and his friends who had become teachers in training right after graduation. There was no surprise when he learned that Hanji still blew up a potion every other day because of some experiment she was making. Of course he had suspected as much right from the get-go, so hearing it from the two of them only gave him the confirmation he didn't even need. Hanji sent him owls every other day, rambling about this experiment or that and every failed attempt at a new potion in between. He never answered them, instead preferring to silently muse over her antics until he met her on the occasional weekend get-together with all of their other friends.

He felt at ease at their home, at their table, sharing old stories and the feeling of being with family. Even if he wasn't exactly a part of it, he still felt welcomed and just as loved as his sister and Eren. Speaking of, Eren did seem to be a little off, he couldn't help but notice. He looked at Mikasa for confirmation, and when she nodded, confirming his suspicion, he frowned. No doubt Carla had picked up on her son's mood, too, because she allowed him to leave the table when he asked to without making a fuss.

Levi knew Mikasa wanted to go after him and see what it was that made Eren's mood change so drastically, but she stayed and helped clear the table, while Grisha left for his study. Levi wanted to help too, but Carla wouldn't allow it. “You're our guest, Levi. No need for you to help. Just sit down and relax. Would you like some dessert? I made little fruitcakes.” she offered and Levi couldn't help the small smile from forming on his lips. This was why he loved Carla. She always knew how to bribe him into being unproductive. However, he would have to decline for now. “Thank you, Carla, but I think I'm still stuffed from dinner; it was delicious. Maybe later?” Carla nodded, smiling brightly.

It was then that Mikasa returned to his side, a small smile on her lips. She tried to look impassive, but Levi knew her too well. He knew she was worried about Eren. “Let's go check on him. You won't be able to relax until you know he's fine.” Levi huffed. Truth be told, he was a little worried, too. He hadn't seen Eren so off before. Not that he saw Eren very often since he had finished school, but as far as he could tell, it had never happened before. Mikasa nodded and went ahead, Levi following her up to Eren's room.

When she knocked and just looked into Eren's room instead of entering it right away, Levi was a little surprised -usually Mikasa just barged right in- but that didn't stop him from listening to what was being said. So there was something bothering the brunette, after all. He followed his sister into the room, sitting down next to her while he asked her what they were on about. Eren didn't seem to want to elaborate, though, and Levi called him out on it.

He hated not being in the loop of things but sometimes it just happened. Even if this didn't seem to directly affect his sister, he could see she was concerned on Eren's behalf so Levi wondered if he should be, too. Eren wasn't his family per say, but he wasn't a stranger either. Mikasa considered him her brother too, so Levi figured he should at least show some interest in the matter. However, Eren wouldn't budge and ultimately Mikasa pulled him from the room, leaving a visibly distraught Eren behind to fend for himself.

He hadn't understood what the two had been talking about, but he at least realized that Mikasa seemed to know more than him about the matter. He wasn't happy, but he allowed her to pull him along to her room, shoving him into her desk chair and sitting down on the floor herself. His eyes bore into hers, wanting an explanation, but she shook her head.

“You won't tell me what that was all about, am I right?” he huffed and crossed his arms. “No.” she shook her head, “It's best I don't. I don't know all the details either and I really think it's best to let him deal with whatever it is that's bothering him alone for now.” Levi watched her for a moment, but she seemed adamant in her decision and he knew there was no swaying her if she really thought this was for the best. “Fine, then.” he huffed, looking around her room. “But you better check on him tomorrow. Or later tonight.” He hadn't liked how spooked Eren had looked at that moment. Like he had seen the ghost of his deceased great-great-grandmother. Levi had actually been scared for a moment there. Mikasa nodded and Levi was sure she had been planning on doing that all along, without having him to tell her.

“You do know something about this though, don't you?” he wanted to know eventually, after a minute or two of silence. Mikasa nodded again, but didn't explain anything else. Levi sighed. It seemed like he wouldn't get anything else out of her for now, no matter how much he prodded. “Come on, let's go get that dessert Carla was talking about earlier.” He got up from his seat and walked over to the door, looking over his shoulder to see if she was following him. She was.

They found Carla in the living room, watching the Muggle news on the telly. Levi still found it weird that a witch was interested in Muggle news, but since her husband was a Muggle, maybe it wasn't so strange to show interest in his world. He didn't know much about Grisha's and Carla's history because he had never asked and Eren and Mikasa had never said much either. It was fine though. “Where's Eren?” was the first thing she asked and Mikasa shook her head. “He went to bed.” More didn't need to be said for Carla to understand, because she simply nodded and then smiled brightly at them. “Want some dessert now? They're in the kitchen, help yourselves and come join me!”

Mikasa and he did as they were told and sat down with their fruitcakes, talking to Carla and watching the telly for a while, before Levi noted the time. “It's getting late. I should get home.” he sighed and got up. “Of course dear. It was nice having you over again. You really should come by more often. You know, you're always welcome here.” Carla gave him a stern look before she pulled him into a short hug, ignoring how he stiffened for a second before he relaxed into it. “Thank you, Carla. I'll try to.” he simply said and pulled out of the hug.

Both of them knew it wouldn't happen. He said it every time she asked him, after all. Then he went to hug Mikasa, holding her close for a few seconds and talking in her ear. “I have the weekend off. If you and Eren want to do something, just come over.” Well, he mostly wanted his sister to come over, but judging by how Eren had looked earlier, he could probably use a distraction from whatever it was, and Levi wasn't one who would look on while other people suffered. He would do something about it, if he could. “Thank you, Levi. I'm sure we will.” she tightened her hold on him for a second before he let him go.

“May I use your floo?” he asked Carla, who nodded readily. “Of course dear.” Levi gave a small smile and a wave to both women, and stepped into the fireplace. The pot of floo-powder hung to the side of the mantle and he grabbed a fistful, threw it into the ashes and clearly stated the place he wanted to go. In a whirl of green flames he was gone and back at his own apartment.

Stepping out of his fireplace, he dusted himself off - travelling by floo always was a rather dirty way to travel but he couldn't say he minded too much. Sometimes it was just easier than apparating or taking a port-key.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya everyone!  
> Thank you to everyone of you who left such nice comments and caring words on the last chapter! It's highly appreciated and encouraged me even more to get better again! Lots of hugs and love to each and every one of you! ^O^  
> My stay in the hospital is going well so far and if this weekend goes well, I'll be allowed another one in two weeks from today! Isn't that awesome?! :D I'm certainly looking forward to it! :D  
> I'm so excited to read all of your new comments and see your reactions to the coming chapters!
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 5th of march.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well! I'd love to get to know you! x3 (Don't be afraid of me, I won't bite :D)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the new chapter!  
> It's Eren's POV again!  
>  ~~Again, this is unbetad because of my lack of organisation skills, so please bear with me for now QAQ~~
> 
> Aside from that; enjoy the chapter! :3
> 
> Edit 26.04: now the betad version

-9-

Eren sighed with relief when the door fell closed behind Mikasa and Levi. Now he could freak out in peace. Of course he couldn't be sure he was right -he had no way to prove his suspicions after all- but he still was 80% certain that Levi was his soulmate.

“Bloody hell...” he muttered and threw himself face-first on his bed. This couldn't be happening. This was wrong. This couldn't be. Couldn't be, couldn't be, couldn't be!

He adamantly shook his head. He knew he was in denial, but how could he not be? Levi was Mikasa's brother! And kind of his brother too, in that manner. Sure, his parents hadn't adopted Levi, but they had always treated him like another son, so Eren had done the same and treated Levi like a brother. Maybe they never were quite as close as Levi and Mikasa, but Eren had never minded that fact. He shook his head and groaned into his pillows.

There was no way, was there? Could it really be? He knew that in the wizarding world pretty much anything was possible, but he didn't want to believe it. No this. Not that Levi was his soulmate. It would complicate so many things. Things that had been easy before. Things he didn't have to think about before. He knew he needed confirmation for his suspicion, but how would he get it? He couldn't just simply walk up to Levi and ask him _'Hey, is your patronus a black jaguar, by any chance?'_ could he?

Eren sneered. Yeah, sure. That wouldn't be suspicious at all. The guy was an Auror, for fucks sake! Levi was incredibly perceptive and would know immediately that Eren had an ulterior motive. And from there it wouldn't take him long to figure out what Eren was trying to find out.

No.

He couldn't risk being found out.

Not if he wanted to stay in Levi's circle of people he cared for. Not when he wanted to keep Mikasa happy. Merlin only knew it would break her heart if Eren and Levi stopped getting along. She relied on both of them so much. He couldn't risk it. He groaned again. This would end up in a mess. He just knew it.

Eren frowned. Would it really be the right choice to stay where he was in Levi's life? Wouldn't he endanger all of the people involved if he did? Should he be putting other people's happiness before their safety? He knew for a fact that Auror's families and the Auror's soulmates as well as their families were very likely targets for people who were crossed by them. Should he really be risking that? Should he be risking not only his life, but the lives of almost everyone he knew and loved, too? Just because he wanted to stay by Levi's side, even if only for that little bit that he could share with the other?

Of course, he knew he and the others might still be at risk, even if he never told Levi who he was and stayed away, simply because Levi considered them family anyway. But at least then it wouldn't be his fault, right? Eren shook his head. No. He wouldn't do something so selfish. He had never cared for his reputation before, he wouldn't start now. Not to mention that Levi would surely get suspicious if Eren suddenly started to stay away from him without a good reason. No doubt he would connect the dots and realize Eren was his soulmate.

Eren couldn't let that happen, could he? He sighed. A quiet knock on his door let him raise his head from his pillows and turn to look at the door. “Mmh?” he made an unintelligible sound to let whoever was on the other side know that it was okay to come in. The door opened and Mikasa entered, closing the door behind her and sitting down next to Eren on the bed.

“You doing better?” she wanted to know, looking him over while Eren buried his head in his pillows again. “No.” his answer was muffled by the pillow but she understood it well enough.

“Levi left. You can tell me now.” Mikasa put a hand on Erens back, rubbing in small circles that where probably meant to calm him, but actually didn't really help him at all. He pulled a face. Levi being gone from the house was a small plus point, that much was true, but he couldn't tell Mikasa what he just realized, could he?

He couldn't let her know that her brother most likely was his soulmate. That her brother was most likely the one who didn't want to have anything to do with Eren. -Granted, Levi didn't know it was him, but still. Mikasa couldn't know. She'd probably hate Levi for it or would want to change his mind. Both of which were things Eren didn't want her to do. If anyone had the right to try and change Levi's mind or even hate him for his decision, it was Eren. And that was, if it even was Levi to begin with. He shook his head. His decision was made.

He wouldn't tell.

“Eren, please. Tell me what just happened. I can help you.” she urged, only for Eren to shake his head again. “No, Mikasa. This time you can't.” Mikasa's hand stilled on his back and he could feel her gaze boring into the back of his head, but he didn't move to look at her. “You haven't even tried to tell me. Maybe if you do we can figure something out together? I just want to help you, Eren. Please.” Eren just buried his head deeper in his pillow. “No, 'kasa. I don't think you could.” Or anyone else, for that matter. He needed to do this one on his own.

He waved his hand in the general direction of his door and it flew open, without him having to mutter a spell or even use his wand. Sometimes being able to not only perform wordless magic, but also wandless magic at the same time really had its peaks. And now that he was of age and could actually use his magic outside of Hogwarts without breaking a law, he would make use of this talent whenever he could. Things were so much easier that way.

“Will you please leave me alone, Mikasa? I really only want to sleep right now.”

“But, Eren, I -”

“Mikasa, please. I'm tired and exhausted and I need to think things over for myself first. We can talk tomorrow. Maybe. Just, let me sleep for now.” Eren cut her off, finally lifting his head up from the pillow to look at her.

She huffed. “ _Fine._ But we're talking about this tomorrow.” she got up and left then, leaving Eren to keep brooding silently for himself until he fell asleep on top of his covers.

This was how his mother found him the next morning, curled up atop his blankets, hugging his pillow close to him and lightly snoring. She didn't bother to wake him and instead just left his door open so that the smell of breakfast pancakes, toast, eggs, bacon and coffee would do the job for her.

It didn't take long for Eren to wake then, and he made his way downstairs with a happy smile on his face. His parents and Mikasa were already awake and bustling around in the kitchen, and he greeted them with what he hoped was a happy face. His parents seemed to buy it, but there was no fooling Mikasa. She frowned at him, but thankfully refrained from calling him out in front of their parents. She would grill him later for sure.

Breakfast was spent mostly quiet, Grisha reading his muggle paper, Mikasa studying the Daily Prophet and Eren concentrating on his food. Carla was the first one to finish, and when she got up, she said “Eren, Mikasa, please clear the table when you're done. Grisha and I will have to head to work soon.” Eren hummed in agreement and Mikasa gave a short nod in her direction, indicating that she had understood. They finished in silence and a few minutes later Carla and Grisha left.

As soon as they closed the front door behind them, Mikasa put down the prophet.

“Levi invited us over for today, by the way. He thought you could probably use a distraction. Will you come?”

Eren frowned. He really didn't want to be around Levi just yet. But he didn't really have an excuse to say no, either. If he wanted to stay home, he'd have to tell Mikasa the truth. Or at the very least, some of it. “I don't know, Mika. I'm still trying to figure everything out. I don't think I would be good company today.” he tried to evade the topic, but Mikasa wouldn't hear of it.

“Eren, why don't you just tell me? Or tell Levi, if you don't want me to know. He could help you, I'm sure.”

Eren tried to hold back a dry laugh at that. Levi? Help him? As if. Not if Levi was his soulmate -and by now Eren was pretty much certain that he was. He didn't quite manage though and ended up choking on his last bite of pancake. Coughing, he shook his head, waving off Mikasa's concerned look. “No. I really don't think anyone could help me at this point. I just need to come to terms with the fact that the guy doesn't want to get to know me.” he huffed when he had calmed down again.

Now it was Mikasa's turn to frown. “It's not like you to give up without a fight.” she observed.

“Well, what else am I supposed to do right now? I can't exactly cast my own patronus yet to send it to that jerk, can I?” he roused on her.

Why wouldn't she just let him be? Why did she need to poke and prod him until she got what she wanted? At least she looked a little startled at his outburst, so he counted that as a plus point on his account.

“Eren, I-”

But he shook his head, not willing to listen to any more bullshittery right now. He knew she couldn't do anything about it either. Pushing his plate away from himself and waving his hand over the table, he cleared it without so much as a word or even the use of his wand -did he actually use it at all since he'd come home yesterday?

“Drop it, Mikasa. You can't do anything about it and neither can I. You go visit Levi today and spend a day with your brother and I'll stay here.”

“But! Eren, he invited you, too! He was worried last night. You scared him as much as you scared me.” Mikasa tried again, but Eren just shook his head and left the dining room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I guess even the best of siblings can fight occasionally, right?  
> Don't worry though, it'll get fixed eventually ;)
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 19th of march.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, have an update! And this time, it's betad, too!

-10-

Eren didn't wait around for Mikasa to leave for Levi's after breakfast. He sought out his muggle phone and called Armin, yet again thankful the blond had insisted that he and Mikasa got one a few years back. It was easier to stay in touch during the holidays like this. Owls took way too long, and Eren just wanted to ask Armin if he could come over for the day.

“Hey Armin! Are you up yet? Can I come over?” he asked, once his call got answered and he heard his friend yawn a 'good morning' in his ear. In an instant, Armin was alarmed. “Eren! It's barely 9 am! What could be so important for you to come over this early?” Eren grimaced. “I'll tell you in a minute. Is your floo open? Or do I need to apparate?”

“The floo is open.”

“Good. See you in a minute, Armin!” with that, Eren ended the call, pocketed his phone and made his way back downstairs and to the living room. He didn't check if Mikasa was gone yet; the house's wards would activate automatically if no one was home, so he didn't need to bother. He grabbed some floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and was at Armin's in a second. He was glad that Armin's house had been connected to the floo network some time last year so they could actually visit each other without having Carla to side-along apparate them over or bring Armin to their place.

The homey living room was empty, but Eren had expected that, with Armin being still sleepy just a few seconds ago. His grandfather was likely to be somewhere out in the garden, so Eren didn't bother finding him yet and, instead, made his way to Armin's room on the top floor of the house. Armin was just climbing out of his bed when Eren practically barrelled into his room. The blond frowned at him but Eren just closed the door after him and then collapsed on the ground.

“Armiiiiin.” he whined, not giving his friend any context. Armin sighed, being used to this kind of behaviour. “Alright Eren, what happened?” he prodded Eren with his foot, getting him to roll over so he could get to his wardrobe and find some clothes to wear. Eren huffed.

“You have to swear you won't tell anyone.” Armin frowned at his best friend, but decided to agree to his terms. Eren seemed distressed and he didn't want to make it worse than it already was. “Okay. I promise I won't tell anyone.”

“Not even Mikasa.” Eren clarified and Armin understood that this was why Eren made him promise in the first place. Because he absolutely didn't want his sister to know whatever it was he was about to tell Armin.

“Not even her.” he agreed without missing a beat and Eren looked like Armin had just lifted a boulder off of his shoulders. Eren was relieved. Now that he had Armin's promise that he wouldn't tell anyone anything about what they were to discuss, he felt a little better.

“I know who my soulmate is, Armin.” he said quietly, after a moment of thinking about how he should say it and decided for the most simple way.

Armin stopped dead in his tracks, his shirt only halfway on his torso, before he collected himself and pulled it down completely, his blue eyes looking intently at Eren. “Who is it?” he asked then, because really! Eren couldn't just drop a bomb like that on him and then not elaborate!

“Well, I'm at least 80% certain it's him.” Eren mumbled and threw his arms over his face, hiding the distressed expression he was making.

“Eren, who is it?” Armin prodded again and sat down next to his best friend.

Eren didn't say anything immediately, but Armin didn't push any more. He knew when to give Eren a moment to collect himself and prepare his words.

“It's Levi.” he said then, in a quiet voice and it took all of Armin's willpower not to gape in shock. He took a deep breath to compose himself before he dared to say anything. “How did you realize?” was the question he decided to ask first, even though he more than anything wanted to know whether Eren was really absolutely sure that he wasn't wrong in his assumption. But he figured that Eren would probably have his head if he did, so he tried to determine how Eren had found out in the first place and would go from there.

“He came with mom and dad to pick us up from the station, as usual. Mom invited him for dinner and of course he stayed.” Nothing unusual there. Armin nodded along. “Remember how I said I thought I knew the voice the patronus spoke with? Well, I got the same feeling during dinner when he was talking and it just wouldn't leave me alone, so when we were done I excused myself and went up to my room.” Eren raised his arms and looked at Armin then.

“I should have known Mikasa and him would follow me and ask if everything was okay.” he huffed, “Well, at first I thought it was only Mikasa who had come to see if I was okay, so I told her I was not, because she already knows about the patronus thing and I thought it didn't matter. But then Levi followed her and wanted to know what we were talking about and I obviously didn't want to tell him and then Mikasa prodded and I kind of got a little angry? Maybe? And then Levi said he was disappointed in me and that's when it hit me. That he was the one who sent the patronus. The context wasn't exactly the same, but the way he said the word. It _is_ him. It _has_ to be him. There is no way he isn't!” Eren rushed to get the words out, getting more and more agitated by the second and when he finished he sat up, sitting cross legged in front of Armin and waving his hands around animatedly to emphasize his point.

Armin had listened attentively, not getting lost in Eren's rambles as other people easily did. What also helped was that Eren didn't lose focus of what he wanted to say this time around. “So you mean to tell me you realized it was him because of one word he said?” Armin asked and couldn't help to sound a little incredulous. Who could recognize their soulmate just from the way they said a word? If that weren't something so uncommon, Armin would be impressed. Though maybe he shouldn't be too surprised, it was Eren they were talking about, after all. _Nothing ever was normal when Eren was concerned._

“Uhm, yes?” Eren nodded, suddenly a lot more hesitant about it than just a few seconds before. Armin sighed. “Listen. You probably realized that this is not something people can usually do, right?” Eren's eyes widened at that. No, he hadn't realized. He had been more occupied with the question about what to do now than anything else. Armin shook his head, a small smile on his lips and Eren pouted when he saw it.

“Armiiin! This is bad! What do I do now? I need to know if I'm right!” Eren stressed, plopped back on his back and rolled around the floor in Armin's room. Armin frowned. “Just ask him? You know the patronus sent to you was a jaguar. Just ask him what his patronus is?” Eren vehemently shook his head. “No! If I do that, he will know! He'll figure it out, Armin! That can't happen! I can't ask him!” he whined and rolled on his tummy, giving his friend a side-ways glance. Armin frowned. “No, he won't, Eren. You're just overreacting.”

“Armin, he's an _Auror_! Of course he will know! I can't ask him!”

“Just because he's an Auror doesn't mean he can read minds. He won't know, Eren.”

But Eren remained adamant, shaking his head and whining. “Alright, alright. I'll ask him, then.” Armin conceded, only to get another vehement “No!” from Eren.

“What? Why not? I thought you wanted to know?”

“I do! But if you ask, he'll figure it's someone you know and it's not too hard to guess it's me.”

“You know I don't actually have to ask him, right?” Eren's eyes widened in shock. “Armin! You can't mean-!”

“I do.”

“But! You always say you can't use it for trivial things!”

“This isn't trivial, Eren. We need to know if Levi is your soulmate or not.”

“Well, yeah, but...” Eren trailed off. He knew he should let Armin do this, but he was afraid of what his friend would learn if he let him. First that and he was pretty sure that, as an Auror, Levi would be very good at occlumency. Armin wouldn't get anything out of Levi if Levi didn't want him to. And when he noticed what Armin was trying to do, he would ask him why he was trying it in the first place instead of just simply asking what he wanted to know. No. Eren shook his head. “Armin, you can't. You can't do that.” Armin huffed and crossed his arms, probably contemplating his next words.

“Eren, we need to know. If I have to do it like that to get the information, then that's what I'll do.” Eren sighed. “Can't we leave that as our last option? I really don't like the idea of you poking around in his brain. Also, there has to be another way we could do this.” They just had to figure it out, right? “Well, you tell me, then. Because I can't think of anything right now.” Armin wasn't too happy about this but figured he'd best comply with Eren for now. “Fine.” Eren huffed and got up from his place on the floor then. “Come on, Armin. You need some breakfast to get your brain working.” Armin barked a laugh at that. “I said _you_ should think of something, not help _me_ think of something!” “But that's what I do best, isn't it?” Eren grinned and left the room.

The kitchen was empty when they walked in, but the table was set for three, so Armin's grandfather must've been around earlier and heard them at some point. “This looks nice.” Eren commented and plopped down in his usual chair. Armin hummed in agreement and helped himself to a piece of toast and eggs. Since Eren had already had breakfast, he was content with a cup of tea. He levitated the can over his cup without so much as a word and Armin frowned. He knew Eren could pretty much perform every spell wordlessly without trouble, but doing it wandless, too, that was new.

“Eren, where's your wand?” he asked, curious.

Eren shrugged. “At home. Probably still in one of my robes. I didn't really need it yet.”

Armin shook his head.

“Eren. You do realize that being able to perform wordless _and_ wandless magic at the same time is a skill so rare that only a handful of wizards and witches possessed it during the last few hundred years?!”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo?  
> Am I seeing actual plot development right there? OWO  
> Anyone willing to make any assumptions about what's going to happen? :D
> 
> Oh, since it's been a while, I figured I might give you all an update on my stay in the hospital, too.  
> I know I said the regular time for a stay would be 8-10 weeks, and I'm currently in the 9th week of my stay. However, I don't have a release-date yet, so I guess I'll be staying more than 10 weeks. I'm okay with that, though. Anything, if it means I'm going to get better again :) And I can be home for every other weekend, so it's really not too bad.  
> Aside from that, I'm happy to let you know that I just finished working on ch13 for this baby last week. So updates will be secured for another 6 weeks at the very least :'D
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 2nd of april.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well! I'd love to get to know you! x3 (Don't be afraid of me, I won't bite :D)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have fun with the chapter!  
> Oh, and there's some good news in the notes at the end! x3
> 
> ~~(again, unbetad QAQ )~~
> 
> Edit 26.04: Now the betad version.

-11-

“Eeh, I might have heard it somewhere before?” Eren offered an answer to Armin's incredulous question, looking sheepishly and just maybe slightly embarrassed. “You're unbelievable!” Armin huffed and looked pointedly at the still levitating can. Eren, knowing what that look meant, rolled his eyes but set the can down with a flick of his wrist. “Showoff.” Armin muttered but seemed pacified for now. Eren smiled and sipped his tea, while Armin ate. He tried to find other ways to determine whether Levi was his soulmate or not. Though he was really almost certain that he was. An unconscious pout formed on his lips while he thought and he puffed his cheeks in annoyance when nothing would come to mind. Armin, who had observed him quietly let him brood about it a little longer while he devoured his breakfast. He could help Eren think of some other way when his growling stomach was satisfied.

“What if I learn what my patronus is? If he's my soulmate he should have it on his skin, right?” Eren asked, unsure if that could work. Armin nodded. “That could work. He would tell you or Mikasa about the patronus on his skin. Hasn't he done so already?” Eren shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe he did a while back, but I don't really remember. Mikasa might know it, though.”

“Then that's what we'll do first. Ask Mikasa if she knows what the patronus on Levi's skin is and, if she does, if she would consider telling us. Though we might have to explain our reasons for wanting to know then.”

Eren frowned. He really didn't want her to know if it was avoidable. At least not yet. And maybe Levi wasn't his soulmate after all, then he would've upset her for no reason at all. “Probably. I first need to get the hang of the spell though.” Eren frowned. He had no idea if he could come up with a strong enough memory. One that was truly happy. “I'm sure you will. Have you tried it yet?”

“One time when we were still back at Hogwarts.”

“Aaand?”

“Nothing. Didn't work.” Armin nodded. “Figures even you would have problems with that one. We can work on it here if you want to? I mean, I can obviously not help you yet since I'm not 17 and I’m not allowed to use magic at home, but maybe I can help you with your memory.” he suggested and Eren nodded. “That would be great, actually. Armin, you're a genius!” Eren grinned, now a lot happier than when he first arrived.

“I know. You need to get your wand though. The patronus charm is complicated enough as it is, no need to make it even harder by trying to cast it without a wand.” Eren huffed at the small jibe but agreed. Casting a patronus without a wand was too much even for him. At least while he still tried to master the spell. Once he had it down, well, he'd definitely try it without his wand. “Fine, fine. I'll go get it.”

He returned home by way of apparition, not floo, since it would be closed off if no one was home. And he figured that Mikasa had left for Levi's by now. Quickly disabling the wards after he checked them for any disturbances, he stepped inside and went up to his room. It was just like he had left it earlier. A little chaos and disarray but he couldn't care less, though it might have taken him a minute or two longer than usual to locate his wand in the mess. He found it in the robes he had worn the day before and twirled it absentmindedly between his fingers.

The ash wand had been his since the moment it chose him back at Ollivander's when he and Mikasa went to Diagon Alley to get their school books and their first robes, and while it was a very fine wand and Eren couldn't wish for a better one, he sometimes felt like the wand was just hindering him from using his full magical capacity. Of course he still used it in school because it was believed that wands helped channel the magic flow and the wizard's or witch's focus on what they wanted to achieve with a certain spell, but it mostly felt wrong and he preferred to forego his wand whenever possible. Not that that happened often while he was at Hogwarts. Eren sighed. He better got back to Armin's so they could start practising.

“Okay then. You know the theory, but do you have a strong enough happy memory?” Armin questioned him, after they had settled down in his living room and gone over the details of the spell Eren was about to learn. Sure, he could have waited until he was back at Hogwarts in two weeks, but he just couldn't wait that long. “I don't know. We'll have to see.” he shrugged. Last time he tried his memory hadn't been strong enough, he knew that for sure. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else. Something that had made him truly happy at the time.

Eren could feel Armin's eyes on him while he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed in thought while he tried to find a memory that would be strong enough to produce a patronus. A small smile graced his lips when he thought he found one. He let the memory, the feelings from back then fill him, let them flow freely through his entire being, and then he lifted his wand and said the incantation.

“Expecto patronum.” He sounded calm and confident and Armin was almost sure that Eren would get it right. Alas, he didn't.

There was a white mist coming from the tip of Eren's wand, forming a kind of incorporeal shield with the tip of the wand as its centre, but that was it. No corporeal form to be seen. Still, both Eren and Armin smiled. This was at least some kind of progress. And fast, too, since it was only Eren's second time ever to cast the spell.

“That wasn't too bad.” Armin said, smiling at Eren, who had now opened his eyes and looked at the white mist curiously.

“I guess so. Still, it's not the real thing.” he pouted and ended the spell.

The memory still wasn't strong enough. Even though he had thought he couldn't go wrong with his first Christmas with Mikasa as a part of their family. There had been presents for everyone of course, and his mum had made her home-made hot chocolate for them while they were opening the presents. In the background, Christmas carols had been playing on the radio and his dad was taking pictures and short videos with his video camera. Mikasa had been so shy about it at first but with every present she opened, she had gotten livelier, and soon, she had been smiling as bright and happy as Eren had and they had all cuddled together on the living room floor and watched Christmas movies when they were done. It had been a wonderful day and Eren thought there couldn't be anything better. Now though, he figured there had to be, if this memory didn't manage to produce a corporeal patronus. He just couldn't think of anything.

“Hey, try again, Eren. You almost had it.” his friend tried to encourage him and Eren gave a small smile. Almost just wasn't good enough, was it? He still nodded in agreement, despite not feeling like having really accomplished anything. Again he closed his eyes and tried to think of another memory. A memory, happy and strong enough to produce a corporeal patronus.

“Expecto patronum.” he said once again, moving the wand in the acquired motion and waiting for something to happen. This time, nothing did. Eren frowned. He had been sure this memory had been stronger than the last one, but apparently he had been wrong about that.

“Again.” Armin decided, not leaving any room for discussion. Eren huffed but agreed and closed his eyes again, trying to think of something else.

He was quiet for a long while, searching though his mind for that one single memory that would get him to conjure up a corporeal patronus. Seeing Hogwarts for the first time? That one afternoon he had spent at the lake with all of their friends back in fourth year when Mikasa's brother and his friends had still been around and hung out with them? His first time flying on a broom? The moment his parents had told him he would get a sister that was his age? Getting his Hogwarts letter? He frowned. None of those seemed strong enough to him. He didn't even need to try them. He knew they wouldn't work.

“Armin, help!” he finally huffed and looked at his friend. The blond had been waiting patiently while Eren thought about a memory he could use for the spell. “Help? How exactly am I supposed to help you?” he raised a brow, not exactly sure what Eren could mean. “I can't think of anything that could work as a strong enough memory. Maybe I don't even have one!” Eren huffed and leant back against the couch, resting his head against it. “Nonsense. Everyone has. You just haven't found it yet.” Armin tutted.

Eren shook his head. He didn't want to give up that easily, but at the moment he really couldn't think of anything. “You think so?” The question was quiet, almost uncertain, but Armin had no trouble understanding it. He nodded. “Yep. We can take a break though. Maybe you just need to rest your mind for a little while.” Armin offered his best friend and Eren agreed. A break really sounded great right now.

They tried it several times more that day, but Eren never got past the part of the incorporeal shield. It annoyed him to no end, but at least they could now make out a pattern for the memories that he should be looking for.

Superficial and short-lived happiness wouldn't work at all. He needed a memory where he had felt deeply content and happy, at peace with himself and the world around him. When Armin had pointed that out to him when they were discussing the memories Eren had tried to use so far, he had been almost ecstatic and began immediately to scour through his mind for those memories. He found a few and tried them all, but he still only managed to conjure that incorporeal shield-mist that wasn't a real patronus. However, they could tell that the shield varied in strength, depending on the memory Eren used. Still, something seemed to be missing and by the end of the day, they gave up and agreed to meet again the next day to keep working on it.

When Eren got home that night, his parents and Mikasa were already back and waiting for him, though he had sent Mikasa a text and told her that they didn't need to wait for him with dinner since he would be eating at Armin's. Apparently she hadn't seen it though, judging by the reaction he got when he stepped out of the fireplace.

“Eren! Where _were_ you?!” Carla rushed to him, immediately checking him for any sign that he might have been hurt, Mikasa following right behind her. “Mum, relax. I'm fine. I was at Armin's all day and I had dinner with him and his Gramps. I even sent Mika a text to tell you were I was.” he frowned and tried to get both women off of his case, “Didn't you check your phone, Mikasa?”

His sister shook her head, looking sorry. “No, I didn't. The battery is still empty. I didn't use it yesterday and I didn't think I'd need it today so I didn't charge it yet.” Eren and Carla both huffed. “Well, at least you're fine and it was all just a matter of miscommunication, then.”

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, that's it for the update.
> 
> In other news, I finally got my release date! I'll be leaving the hospital for good on the 20th of april! So in about two and a half weeks x3  
> I'm already looking forward to it and I have soo many fics and aus I want to share with all of you, but it will take me a while to get them all online, so you'll probably have to wait a little longer for those. I will, however, put up a notice in the notes and on my tumblr, once they're online :D
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 16th of april.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well! I'd love to get to know you! x3 (Don't be afraid of me, I won't bite :D)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, here's the new chapter!
> 
> Surprise POV! I decided you will read some of the chapters from Mikasa's POV, isn't that great?! Oh, also, this is actually my first time ever actually writing from her perspective, so please be nice! I'm still not sure I managed to make it okay-ish êe
> 
> Now, have fun with Mika's POV! :3

-12-

She was worrying about Eren. He had been acting out of sorts since his soulmate had let him know that he didn't want to get to know him, but he had been better during the last few days. Now he was worse than before though and she couldn't for the live of her figure out why that was. Nothing had happened on the train ride home, nor on the platform or on their way home. It had all been the same as it ever was, up until the moment he had excused himself from dinner that night and left for his room. She had tried to talk to him -even Levi had- but that only seemed to make everything even worse.

Mikasa couldn't understand why Eren was closing up so much. Why didn't he let her in? Why was he isolating himself from everyone that evening? That night, she had went through everything that had been said in her mind, but she couldn't spot any irregularities.

Eren had been more or less fine until she and Levi came into his room and tried to get him to talk. Then he had clamped up and practically threw them out of his room. She knew he had lied when he said he wanted to go to bed early because he was tired. However, she could see that he was feeling mentally exhausted, so she hadn't called him out on it and instead had just pulled her brother from the room. Otherwise Levi wouldn't have left Eren alone until he told him what was up. And she sensed that that would never have ended well. Her brothers were both as stubborn as could be. It was more likely they would end up fighting than actually talking.

She knew Levi was worried, too. She could see it in his eyes that night, even when they went back downstairs to sit and spend time with Carla. The woman clearly knew something was up, but she didn't ask. Mikasa figured she probably knew Eren would open up to them in his own time and that until then, they couldn't do anything about it.

The next morning hadn't been any different. Eren was still out of it and when she tried to get him to talk when their parents left for work, he even lashed out at her. It had hurt that he didn't want to tell her; it implied that he didn't trust her with what was going on with him right now. Even though he should know that he could. She would never betray him or tell whatever he told her to third parties. But she couldn't really do anything about it but wait until Eren would open up to her.

A resigned sigh left her lips then, while she looked herself over in the mirror. She would be leaving for Levi's in a moment and she wondered if she should go check on Eren before she left. After breakfast he had stormed off to his room and slammed the door shut behind him, a clear sign that he didn't want to be disturbed by anyone. She should probably leave him be for now. That way when she came back later he would've hopefully cooled off enough to be willing to tell her what was actually going on.

It couldn't just be what they already knew about his soulmate. There must be more to it. Or something else entirely was bothering him and she had somehow missed it. Mikasa frowned. She would have to talk with Levi, or else she would go crazy with these thoughts. He could usually help her figure things out. She huffed and decided to just get going and when she passed Eren's door in the hallway, it was still closed, so she figured he had either gone back to bed or moping around. Maybe he was even playing one of his stupid muggle games on the laptop he had received as a Christmas present a few years back so he could play a few game together with Armin. She had one, too, but she just didn't see the appeal of those games, to be honest.

Stepping out of Levi's fireplace she noticed that his flat was as clean and impeccable as ever. A small smile graced her lips and she made her way over to his kitchen, figuring that her brother might still be in the process of waking up and drowning a litre of tea to actually be able to socialize.

“Levi? Are you up yet?” she called tentatively, just in case he wasn't awake yet -even though she doubted that; Levi was an early riser, even if he might need some time to be actually awake. “Kitchen!” came the reply almost immediately and she could hear him yawn. He actually sat on the counter, only wearing his pyjama bottoms, when she entered the kitchen, something she had never seen him do before, sipping his still steaming tea from a huge mug. She wondered what was up with that, but didn't ask. It just surprised her that he wasn't wearing a shirt or anything; not concealing his soulmate's patronus at all. She had never seen it, though he had told her before it was an orca . The patronus was just gliding over Levi's collar bones to his left shoulder and then to his back, out of her sight.

“Good morning, brother.” Mikasa smiled and made her way over to him to share a short hug with her brother, choosing not to comment on the patronus. “Morning.” he half-smiled, only to frown a second later.

“Where's Eren?”

“He didn't want to come. He said he didn't feel like he would be good company today.” she actually pouted. She still wasn't happy about Eren not joining them. Eren was her brother just like Levi was and she wanted to spent time with the both of them.

Mikasa didn't like it when they weren't all together.

“Oh? And here I thought he would be happy to spend time with us.” Levi huffed, a little indignant. Mikasa could tell that he had been looking forward to a day for only the three of them, too. After all, he had been practically adopted by the Yaeger's as well when they were children, even though he had to live with another family.

Carla and Grisha had always made sure to never treat neither of them different from Eren and had given them both the feeling of belonging with their family right from the get-go. She was sure it had been weird for Levi at first but when he just accepted it, the three of them had become incredibly close, even though they only saw each other two times a month at most, sometimes even less. And when Levi had gone off to Hogwarts, they had stayed in contact with letters and saw each other only when he came home for the holidays for the three years it took for Eren and Mikasa to start at Hogwarts too. At Hogwarts things had been weird at first, since they now could spend actually every day together, but Levi had made friends he spent most of his time with, and he told them to do the same. Eventually, they had found a good balance though and managed to keep up their close bond. And for that, she was extremely grateful.

“Hmhm. Maybe he'll come tomorrow. He knows you're busy.” she sighed. Levi nodded. “Yeah, he better. Or I'm going to drag him here.” Mikasa laughed and shook her head, a fond smile on her lips. “You know that won't work.”

“You sure about that? I'm an Auror now, Mika. I can get him to do a great many things if I wanted to.” he smirked and Mikasa figured he was probably already planning a way to get Eren to spent time with them. He never said so much in as many words, but she knew Levi considered Eren a part of his family and worried over him just as much as she did.

“You've got a point there, but I doubt he would appreciate it if you did.” she pointed out to him.

Levi set his mug down and crossed his arms. “Well, I don't care. It's not often that I get a few days off work in a row and I want to spent time with my sister and her adoptive brother. So he better be here tomorrow.” Despite sounding like a petulant little child, Mikasa knew that Levi was worrying about Eren just as much as she was and just wanted to make sure that Eren was okay. She sighed. “I'll tell him you said he should come and that you're going to drag his stupid ass here if he doesn't do so himself. Sounds good?” Levi nodded.

After that, Mikasa was left to her own devices for a little while while Levi showered and got ready for the day. When he joined her in the living room she was lounging on his couch and flipping though the pages of one of his books on wizarding law. Levi might not be in the ministry's department of magical law enforcement, but he still needed to know the rules everyone in the wizarding world had to abide to and live by. Even if his job's main focus was hunting wizards and witches that did not only not abide to the law but also actively tried to work against the ministry and their policies. That was not why Mikasa was thumbing through the book though. She was genuinely interested in the topic, even thought of trying to apply for a job at the ministry's branch of magical law enforcement once she graduated from Hogwarts in a few month.

“Hey, can I borrow that?” she asked when Levi sat down next to her and showed him the cover of the book so he knew which of his books she wanted to take.

“Sure, be my guest. You know the rules.” he nodded. The Rules, yes. Mikasa smiled fondly at the thought. They had set them up when Levi was still the only one of them attending Hogwarts. Mikasa and Eren had both been insanely curious and had pestered him until Levi agreed to lend them the books from his previous school years so they could 'prepare'. The rules had been to never leave any grimy fingerprints, no ripped or torn pages, no dog-ears and to never ever have food or drink near his books. Mikasa never minded those rules, even when she was little, because she treated her own books just the same.

“Of course!” she huffed and lightly shoved his shoulder, which earned her a laugh from him before he slung his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into another half-hug.

“Now, my dear baby sister. Tell me what's wrong. I know when there's something on your mind that you need to talk about.” Levi frowned at her and rubbed her shoulder in a comforting manner when she leant against him, resting her head on his shoulder in return.

“It's Eren.” Of course it was him. When was it ever not? “He's been acting really weird lately, and while I know _some_ of the reasons, he won't tell me all of them. I know there is more though, even if he denies it.”

“You could always see right through him. I'm sure he'll come around and tell you eventually. Just give him time.”

“I gave him almost a week! He never took that long before!”

“Relax, Mika. You know you need to be patient with him when it comes to these things. I'm sure he'll come around and tell us.” Levi strengthened his hold on her for a few seconds and she nodded weakly against his shoulder. “If he didn't talk to you by Monday, I'll try to talk to him again, okay?”

“Mhm.” Mikasa agreed. She could sense Levi's worry for Eren in the way his whole body was tense and somewhat stiff, even though he tried to keep it out of his tone of voice. She knew though. He couldn't fool her. Never could and never would.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What do you think? Was it okay? Do you want to see more from Mikasa's POV? (Doesn't matter actually because you will either way >D)  
> Also, things will start to happen soon-ish, so be prepared :D
> 
> OH, I'll finally be back home on wednesday! So I'll be updating my other fics and uploading a few new new ones in a weeks time or so, depending on how fast I am with copying everything to my laptop :D
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 30th of april.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well! I'd love to get to know you! x3 (Don't be afraid of me, I won't bite :D)
> 
> (on a side-note: All the previously unbetad chapters will be changed to the betad versions some time tomorrow :3 I finally got the doc from my beta xD)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unbetad. ~~sorry~~ êe

-13-

Despite never actually saying it, he was worried about Eren ever since his sister had dragged him from the brunette's room last night. Eren had been so visibly distraught and he wasn't allowed to even try and do something about it. Of course he accepted Eren's wish to deal with things for himself for now since he knew that Eren would eventually come and seek help if he couldn't manage things on his own, but that didn't exactly ease his mind. He still kept thinking about what it could have been that had upset Eren this much in the first place. He knew Mikasa knew _something_ at the very least -after all she had said as much- but she hadn't enclosed to him what it was all about. Sure, he wanted to know, needed to know if he wanted to help Eren in any way he could, but he couldn't just force it out of Eren if he didn't want to talk. So he would give him time. Time until at least Monday. If he hadn't talked to Mikasa by then, he would try his luck. Not only to ease his own mind, but Mikasa's as well. He had promised her, after all.

When she had left earlier to be home in time for dinner, he had contemplated to go with her, simply because he enjoyed Carla's cooking, but he wasn't sure it would be a good idea with Eren being in that weird mood of his, so he stayed home and got take-out in the end. He spent the evening by just relaxing on his couch and reading, trying to distract himself from everything else that was happening in his life right now.

It didn't really work though. Work never really left his mind, even when he had days off, and Eren's weird mood and his sister's predicament kept nagging him in the back of his mind, too. In the end, he gave up on trying to ignore his life and just went with wherever his thoughts were taking him. There wasn't much he could do about Eren for now, so he concentrated on more important things first. Meaning, his sister and work.

Mikasa had told him that she wasn't just worried about Eren, but about her own soulmate as well. The patronus she got was developing incredibly slowly, and though by now she could tell it would be some kind of small bird, it still wasn't fully developed, even though her birthday had been over a month prior. She wondered why that was -usually people got their soulmate's patronus fully developed within three to four weeks. And while she wasn't over that time by much, she was still struggling with it.

She feared her soulmate might be sick or suffered one of those rare magical diseases that drained them of their magic, which in turn resulted in their patronus taking longer to develop. After all, a patronus -and especially the mark on your soulmate's body- could only exist as long as the owner had magic in them. Now, it rarely ever happened that someone completely drained his magic and thus temporarily 'erased' his patronus from their soulmate, but it was possible. However, the only time a soulmate's patronus only ever left the skin for good was when its owner died. And with Mikasa's taking as long as it did, there may actually be a chance that this would happen to her soulmate sooner or later. Either that, or they were constantly exhausting their magic.

Though Levi had no clue why anyone would willingly do that.

He just hoped that whoever his sister's soulmate was would live. For Mikasa's sake. That way, at least one of them would be able to be happy with their soulmate.

Levi sighed. He still thought he had made the right decision in telling his own soulmate not to come looking for him. Of course he was somewhat curious about the person fate and destiny had chosen for him, but at the moment he couldn't allow himself the luxury of getting to know his soulmate. It was simply too dangerous for them. Maybe he would look for them some time in the still far-away future, but until then he wouldn't dare risk it.

He stayed on the couch, brooding for quite some time before he finally went to bed at some time around midnight. The next day was a Saturday and he had planned for his sister, Eren and he to get out meeting some of their shared friends. Maybe start a round of friendly Quidditch. At least he would love to play a casual game again. His last time playing had been quite a while ago and he missed the rush of flying and chasing after the snitch.

So it wasn't really a surprise that he was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his sister and Eren. Mikasa had said that they would come by at around 10am, and it was only 8.30am now and Levi was already pacing in front of the fireplace, impatient and ready to go. He felt like he was glancing at the clock every other minute and time _just wouldn't pass_ , but eventually, 10am rolled around and his fireplace roared to life.

Mikasa stepped out and dusted off her muggle clothes. She wore plain jeans and a dark blue hoodie, her dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail and her broom in hand. Her trademark red scarf was snugly wrapped around her neck for extra protection against the cold wind.

“Hey Mika.” Levi greeted her with a smile an a hug which she returned.

“Hey.” she sounded a little stressed and Levi noticed the tense set of her shoulders.

“You okay?” he wanted to know.

Mikasa sighed and shook her head. “Not really. Eren and I had a fight earlier.”

Levi frowned. It didn't happen often that his sister and Eren fought, and whenever the _did_ , they would usually try to work out their differences as soon as possible.

“What about?”

“Same as yesterday. He still doesn't want to tell me. Even though he seemed to be doing a little better after he came back from Armin's last evening.” she huffed.

“Armin? Well, I'm sure he'll tell you whenever he's ready. I just hope that he is coming over soon. Or else I'll have to drag his stupid ass to the pitch.”  
At that, Mikasa laughed a little and Levi was happy to see her smile again.

“Yeah, he is. He wasn't too happy, but he agreed to come at least for a little while. He said he was going over to Armin's again in the afternoon.”

Levi nodded. At least Eren would spend some time with them today. That's all he ever wanted, anyway.

“Did you have to threaten him?”

“No, surprisingly not. He agreed to come once I mentioned Quidditch.”

Just then, the fireplace roared again and Eren stepped out, carrying his own broom and looking quite dishevelled. His hair was messier than usual and he looked like he just threw on whatever was on top in his wardrobe.

“Hello, Levi.” Eren greeted him, a small smile on his lips. It didn't reach his eyes, though, Levi noticed.

Eren looked tired and it was obvious he was still not alright after his flunk from the other day.

“Hey Eren.” he returned the greeting and picked up his broom, which was leant against the wall next to the fireplace. He decided not to bother Eren with questions until after their game. It was to be expected that Eren's playing would be abysmal if he did now.

The game they played ended up in a draw. Levi's team caught the snitch, but the others had thrown more goals. Which was no surprise with Mikasa and Eren as their Chasers. While they were playing, Levi had kept an eye on Eren's and Mikasa's interactions, but it seemed like they didn't let their fight affect their playing. However, once they were all back on the ground, he could tell the two of them were avoiding each other again. The others noticed, too, but when they saw Levi shaking his head, they didn't approach the siblings about it.

It was around lunch time and all their flying had made them quite hungry, so one of them suggested to stop at a nearby restaurant and get something to eat. That idea was well received by everyone except one. Eren. Levi frowned at him.

“I think I'm going to pass. I don't have that much time left before I have to head to Armin's and I'm sure I could eat at his place.” the brunette excused himself.

Everyone seemed to deflate a little then, but accepted his reasoning nonetheless.

“Well, okay. If you say so, Eren.” Levi huffed and looked at him intently. He hadn't missed Eren's behaviour was somewhat off all morning, but he guessed it was because of his fight with Mikasa.

“I do.” Eren almost glared at him and then waved goodbye to the rest of their friends. Even Levi.

Now, that was what got him suspicious. Usually Eren would offer Levi a one-armed hug whenever they met or parted ways. And now he didn't. Levi narrowed his eyes, watching Eren's retreating form. This morning Eren hadn't hugged him, either, had he? Levi hadn't noticed it then, too eager to get out and play Quidditch, but now that he did, he couldn't help thinking about it.

Was there a reason other than his fight with Mikasa for Eren's behaviour? Could he be angry at Levi, too? For trying to get him to talk the other day?

He really hoped that wouldn't be the case and that Eren would go back to his usual touchy-feely self in a few days.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so I know this is more of a filler-chapter than actually one where they're making any kind of progress, but I figured the babs could use some down-time before shit actually got real. :')
> 
> UPDATES: Will come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_ like usual.
> 
> The next chapter will be online on the 14th of may.  
>   
> I hope you all enjoyed this so far and will be back for more! ^O^  
> There's also a post on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) where you can like and reblog it! Also, anyone wanting to drop by and chat or talk AUs is welcome as well! I'd love to get to know you! x3 (Don't be afraid of me, I won't bite :D)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, here's the new chapter, everyone!  
> and let me tell you, you almost didn't get an update. at all.  
> my laptop died yesterday, showing bluescreens and nothing else. i was fearing i had lost all my documents as well, but luckily my dad managed to save them, so there isn't any loss besides my laptop. poor bby QAQ  
> again, unbetad

-14-

Going to play Quidditch with the others hadn't been his best idea, he decided. The game itself hadn't been too bad, but Eren had felt constantly on edge, trying to monitor his behaviour towards everyone -and especially Levi. He tried not to act too different from his usual self while interacting with his soulmate, and he thought he did a rather good job of it, but it was exhausting.

Add to that his fight with Mikasa -they had fought _again_ this morning- and anyone would probably understand why he was happy to get away from the group around lunch time, after their game of Quidditch had ended in a draw.

He apparated to Armin's and was glad he could drop his mask of happy pretence. When Armin let him in, he frowned at him.

“That bad?”

Eren shook his head. “No. just really exhausting.”

Armin nodded, ushering him upstairs to his room.

“You want to tell me?” his friend asked, plopping down on his bed while Eren occupied Armin's desk chair.

He shrugged. “There is not much to tell. Mikasa and I fought again this morning. She keeps asking me what is wrong.”

“Maybe you should just tell her? You know she wouldn't tell Levi. Even if he _is_ her brother and she wouldn't be approving of his decision.” Armin offered, but Eren shook his head.

“No. We've been over this, Armin. At least, not before we know what my patronus is.”

He had been practising some more last night, when everyone else had been asleep already, but he hadn't made any progress. Which meant that he _still_ hadn't found his happy memory, even though he felt like he'd been through everything he could remember at least thrice already.

Armin sighed. “Fine, okay. Let's get to it, then. The sooner we know what your patronus is, the sooner you can tell her.”

It was obvious Armin didn't particularly like keeping things from Mikasa, but he'd do it if it that was what Eren wished for. The brunette huffed.

“Fine. Are you sure you don't want to use your legilimency on me? Because I've been trying to think of a good memory all night and I couldn't come up with anything that didn't end up in an incorporeal mist-shield.” Eren pouted, swivelling on the chair.

“You know I shouldn't, Eren. While I'm not of age yet, there's still the trace on me. The ministry may not be able to tell who exactly is the one using magic here right now, but they can still see which spells have been used. And someone of our age shouldn't be able to use legilimency. They're bound to notice. They might even start to ask questions. At Hogwarts it's no problem because there are teachers around and everything and there's no way in hell they could ever determine if it was one of the students using it or not. Here though, it wouldn't be much of a challenge, with just the two of us around.” Armin explained matter-of-factly and Eren had to agree.

While legilimency wasn't exactly illegal, it still wasn't something a lot of people approved of.

“Okay.” he sighed, slumping a little in his seat.

They got to work then, Eren telling Armin of all the memories he had tried to use to conjure his patronus and Armin tried to find some kind of pattern within the pattern they had already determined the day before.

By the time Eren needed to get back home they hadn't made any real progress. Just another mountain of memories that managed to produce a more or less strong mist-shield instead of a corporeal patronus, leaving Eren to think that maybe _that_ was his patronus. To which Armin whacked him on the back of his head for, when he voiced that suspicion out loud.

“Nonsense, Eren! A patronus _always_ is some kind of animal, magical or non-magical. Though the non-magical are more regular.” the blond had chided him, leaving Eren to rub the back of his head with a pout.

He spent the rest of the weekend with his family, visiting his muggle relatives. Which left him with no more time to practice his patronus, but at least got him to make up his fight with Mikasa. He was still a little cross with her for her constant badgering him about his well-being, while she couldn't understand why he didn't just tell her -yet.

They found some common ground though when they talked about it, agreeing to let the matter rest until after the weekend. Eren knew she would probably ask him again the moment their parents left for work on Monday, but at least he could tell her on his own terms, then. Not that he would tell her anything at all before he knew what his patronus was, but she didn't need to know that.

His grandparents were overjoyed to see them -they thought Eren and Mikasa went to a boarding school further up north, thus only ever meeting them during the holidays- and stuffed them with cake and sweets and wanted to know everything that had happened since they last saw them. They even gave the both of them belated birthday presents. Eren got books about muggle law and important cases that had happened throughout the last century, while Mikasa got books about cooking and baking. The siblings shared a look when they were done unpacking their presents, agreeing without words that they would switch presents once they were home. Their grandmother always mixed up their interests and usually handed Eren the presents Mikasa should become and vice versa.

When they had talked about that with Carla when it had happened first, the woman had laughed and shaken her head.

“No, I don't think she does it by accident, dears. She wants you to become a responsible and successful young man, Eren, and Mikasa a pretty little housewife. She's very traditional like that.” she explained to them.

“But that way we will never get anything we like from them!” a seven year old Eren had exclaimed, aghast, while Mikasa looked not too happy herself.

“Now, now, little ones, don't worry. You can always switch the presents when we get home. I promise I won't tell and I'm sure your father wouldn't, either.” Carla pacified her children and sent her husband a warning glare the siblings luckily missed because they were already cheering and running off to exchange the presents.

That night, when he was sure everyone else was asleep again, Eren stood in front of his mirror, clad only in his boxers, and watched the little patronus move around on his skin. He still couldn't 'feel' where it was on him, but at least by now he could tell that it would indeed be a jaguar. Just like the patronus that had spoken to him with Levi's voice just a week ago.

When they'd been out earlier, Mikasa and he had to hide their soulmate's patronuses under a simple glamour charm to keep their grandparents from noticing their magical heritage, and Eren was thinking about doing it again whenever he would have to meet with Levi in the future. It seemed safer than just simply hoping the patronus would stay hidden beneath his clothes. And while people usually didn't hide the patronuses they were wearing on their skin, some did. So it wouldn't be too weird for him if he would use a glamour charm to hide it, right?

Right.

He watched the little light creature prance over his collarbones and then, with a mere flick of his hand, it vanished, blending in with the tone of his skin. It felt weird, hiding Levi's patronus like that -shouldn't he be proud that someone as strong as Levi was _his_ soulmate?!- and it was even weirder not to see it anymore, to not be able to follow the path it took over his body with his eyes. But he would have to get used to it if he really wanted to keep it a secret. Besides, once he learnt how to feel the patronus moving on his skin, it wouldn't really matter anymore.

He looked himself over again, and with another flick of his wrist the patronus reappeared, now moving along his neck. Eren sighed and turned his back to the mirror.

His talk with Mikasa didn't go too well, but he' take it if it meant she wouldn't know Levi was his soulmate for a while longer. He had told her, however, that he had a suspicion about who his soulmate was. Of course she had wanted him to tell her at once so she could go and give whoever it was a piece of her mind, but Eren had stayed adamant in not telling her anything else but what he already had.

The rest of the holidays were over in a flash and before he knew it, he was back at platform 9¾ and getting on the train _to_ Hogwarts for the last time. Meeting his friends and finding an empty compartment and saying goodbye to his parents and Levi, Eren didn't have too much time to think about the by now fully grown jaguar residing on his skin.

He'd hidden it under the glamour charm and he was glad he had. While he still hadn't managed to cast his own patronus -even though he had kept meeting Armin at least every other day- he at least now could tell where on him the patronus was at any moment (currently it seemed to be running circles around his wrist again).

At least he got Armin to agree to use his legilimency on him once they were back at Hogwarts. Well, he'd had to nag the poor blonde for days, but Eren thought it was worth it. And he was nothing if not persistent. And if it meant he would finally be able to cast his own corporeal patronus, there wasn't anything he wouldn't be willing to do. He just really needed that blasted memory!

“Yo, Eren! Quit being so moody! Let's play a round of Exploding Snap!” Connie slung his arm around Eren's shoulders, jostling him back into the present.

“Connie! We're barely out of London!” Marco huffed, but he was ignored and talked over by Sasha, who just launched into a sing-song of “Exploding Snap! Exploding Snap! Exploding Snap!” clearly eager to play the game.

Eren huffed at the antics of his friends but welcomed the distraction the game would provide him with.

After the welcome-back-feast, when he was back in his dorm room with the other Gryffindor boys, Eren was assaulted by questions about his patronus. Had he managed to cast his own yet? Could they see his soulmate's patronus? Was it completely developed yet?

Those and more questions he had to answer, and the perhaps most important ones: Did he know who his soulmate was? Had he talked to them or even met them already during the holidays?

Needless to say, sleep came late to him that night. His mind, still reeling from answering all those questions and the prospect of _finally_ being able to perform the charm in the correct way, producing a _real_ patronus, were keeping Eren awake for longer than what was probably good for him.

He had trouble staying awake and alert during his classes the next day, but luckily he knew he wouldn't miss anything of importance. Having spent most of his holidays with his best friend, he had studied more than he probably would have on his own and thus now was two chapters ahead of everyone else. That meant he could afford to take a nap or two during the first day.

Of course, if Armin knew, he'd be outraged at Eren's reasoning, but luckily they shared only their charms class that day, so he figured he'd be safe as long as he didn't fall asleep during that class.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, they're back at Hogwarts, so it won't be much longer until Eren finally finds out what his patronus is :D  
> What did you think of this chapter? I for one like it quite much and i had a lot of fun writing it :3
> 
> UPDATES: Would usually come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_. However, since my laptop is broken and I'm currently updating by using my father's pc, I'm not too sure when the next update will be. I might make it on the 28th, but please don't take my word for it.
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter _might_ be online on the 28th of may.  
>   
> 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you believe that? A wild update has appeared!  
> I finally managed to get (some) of my files back, and my Laptop is working again. Well, only the most basic stuff, but I can write and use the interwebs, that shall be enough for me °^°  
> At least I can bring this update to you today :3  
> I hope you enjoy it and the wait was worth it!  
> Sorry again êe  
> Also, this is unbetad, as usual ^^"

-15-

That evening, when classes were over, Eren and Armin met in front of the room of requirement. They had agreed that if Armin used his legilimency on him, they should probably do it at some place secluded, where they wouldn't be disturbed by anyone.

“Ready?” Armin asked, once the door materialized in the wall.

“As ready as can be.” Eren nodded, determined to get done with it and pushed past Armin, being the first to enter the room.

The room of requirement had provided them with a space large enough to practice numerous spells and charms, but there was a corner with very comfortable looking couches and bean bags, and a fireplace, too. The magic of the room had also included a long row of shelves filled with books along one length of a wall, leaving Eren with no doubt that Armin would check those out once they were done with their project.

Situating themselves on the plush couches and getting comfortable, the two of them once again talked over the details of what was going to happen.

“Okay, Eren. You know you have to want to let me into your head. Otherwise this might actually hurt you. Forced legilimency is a really dangerous thing for the mind.” Armin explained and Eren nodded along, showing that he understood.

“There's also a high chance that I might see something you don't want me to see. In that case, use your occlumency to throw me out.” the blond continued.

“Of course. I doubt that'll happen, though. You know I don't keep any secrets from you, Armin. We've known each other for years and I think you've seen me embarrassing myself often enough to not really care anymore.” Eren grinned a cheeky grin and Armin huffed, a small amused smile playing on his lips.

“True. There's still some things I'd rather not see, though.” Armin was mocking him, but Eren just stuck out his tongue at him.

“I know, I know. Now get on with it already!” he ordered, leaning back on the couch and waiting for Armin to cast the spell.

“Fine.” the blond frowned and pointed his silver lime wand at Eren.

“Are you sure, Eren?” he asked once again, just to be completely sure that Eren really wanted this.

“ _Yes_.” Eren raised an eyebrow, his look clearly asking if Armin would get on with it sometime this century or not.

“Okay.” Armin sighed flicked his wand.

“Legilimens!”

Eren stiffened.

The feeling of someone invading his mind and searching his memories was really weird. Not exactly bad, but... unusual. He could tell Armin was trying to be as cautious as he could possibly be, treading carefully around the areas Eren might not want him to see, all the while delving deeper into Eren's mind and memories.

And then, images began to flash in front of his mind's eye and he could tell that Armin was deliberately pulling those memories to his attention.

He saw his first Christmas with Mikasa again, their family all snuggling together under a pile of blankets on the living room floor, Christmas carols playing in the background.

Then there was his eleventh birthday, when he got his Hogwarts letter. He smiled at the memory, he had been so exited to be invited to the school, just like his sister and her brother.

His fifteenth birthday followed, this time showing his group of friends all sitting together in the room of requirement, having a party. The house elves, with Tam leading the way, had provided them with all their favourite foods and lots of butter beer. And Eren remembered a particular moment where Sasha and Connie had decided to try and transfigure one of the couches into a huge cake, resulting in a bigger mess than anyone could have anticipated.

The memory changed again, showing Eren the moment of his first time meeting Levi. He had been six or seven years old at the time, and Levi, being three years older, had made quite the impression on him. The older boy fascinated him to no end and -if he had been honest with himself- he had been maybe a little jealous of Mikasa for having such an awesome older brother. It soon became apparent though that he really didn't need to be, since Levi seemed to be accepting Eren as a part of his family, too, just like Eren's parents. When his young mind understood that, that even though Levi had to live with another family, he could still be his brother and be a part of his own family, that he could always play and be together with both siblings, he had been incredibly happy and content.

Eren smiled, sure that this was the memory he had been looking for all this time. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself, though. Armin ended the spell, gently retreating from Eren's mind. It took both of them a moment to sort through their thoughts and to really arrive back in the present, but when they did, there was no stopping them.

“Well? What are you waiting for, Eren?! Try it!” Armin urged him when Eren made no move to get up and test the memory.

The brunette jumped from his spot on the couch to stand in the middle of the room. Lifting his wand, he closed his eyes, concentrated on the memory and what he'd felt at that time, then said the incantation.

“Expecto patronum!” he said with a confidence and surety he hadn't had before, and from the tip of his wand bursted a silver mist, quickly forming into his patronus.

Eren and Armin both watched the light creature in complete awe as it circled Eren once and then glided through the room, seemingly inspecting it.

“Wow.” Eren breathed, his eyes never leaving the orca his spell had conjured.

“An orca! Eren! This is awesome!” Armin grinned, skipping over to Eren to clap him on the back to congratulate him.

“Yeah.” Eren agreed, still somewhat speechless.

“Who would've thought, though! I for sure thought your patronus would be some kind of dog or something.”

Eren nodded. “Hmm. It kind of fits though, don't you think?”

Armin hummed, agreeing.

“Yeah. As far as I know, orca are fiercely loyal to their family and very protective of them.” the blond repeated some trivia he had probably learned when he had been obsessing over marine biology.

Eren smiled. He definitely liked the orca and wouldn't want any other patronus, despite only knowing it for less than five minutes.

“This is great, Eren! Now we can ask Mikasa if she knows Levi's patronus or the one of his soulmate!” Armin grinned.

And Eren's face fell. He had completely forgotten about that. That he'd more or less promised Armin they would ask Mikasa as soon as they knew what his patronus was.

“Ah, yeah... About that, Armin -” he started carefully, eyes still trained on his patronus, “I don't think I can tell her just yet. What's going to happen once she realizes Levi is my soulmate? I mean, I know she probably wouldn't hex him or anything, but you saw her reaction when I told her what his patronus said.”

Armin frowned. “Yeah, I saw. Seeing as he's her brother, she'd probably refrain from hexing him too bad, but she'd still chew him out for it, you're right. You should tell her at some point, though. And you should think about sending your orca to Levi with a message. You have every right to do that. Who says that just because he doesn't want to meet you he can't talk to you at all?”

Eren pouted. Of course he would tell her eventually. He just needed time to think of a perfect way for telling her, and then wait for the right moment.

“I am talking to him, though.” he pointed out.

“Yeah. One letter a month, and I'm pretty sure you haven't told him of the arrival of his patronus, or did you?” Armin observed, frowning again and crossing his arms.

“...No.” Eren glared at nothing in particular and ended the charm, dissolving the orca into silver mist that slowly evaporated completely.

Armin sighed. “Well, think about it, okay?”

Eren nodded, grabbing his things from the couch and heading to the door.

“Okay, Armin. C'mon now. Dinner is almost over and I'm starving!”

They had spent more time than he'd thought they would in the room and he really didn't want to miss the meal. Armin nodded in agreement, seemingly happy that Eren would give it some more thought at least.

During their first week back Eren didn't get a chance to talk to Mikasa -not that he really wanted to, anyway- but Armin's not-so-subtle hints and warning glares got him to decide that he should probably do it on the upcoming weekend.

Thus how he found himself in an empty classroom on a nice Saturday afternoon, warding it against eavesdropping and potential spies. Not that he really thought people would intentionally listen in on this conversation, but there always were some curious passers-by that may hear one thing or another and tell other people. And Eren really didn't want the whole school to know. Sure, he'd have to at least tell his friends soon -they were all pestering him about it already- but he had to tell Mika first. He felt he owed her at least that, if he really wouldn't tell her about Levi any time soon.

Eren was sitting on one of the desks when Mikasa entered, looking around curiously. He could see she had no idea why he wanted to talk to her in an out-of-the-way classroom. Gesturing for her to come sit next to him before he would start talking, he waited for her to come over. When she sat, he took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was going to tell her.

“I finally managed my patronus, Mika.” he said quietly, dreading her reaction, even though he knew it wouldn't be too bad.

“Oh? What is it, Eren?” she leaned over to him, looking at him expectantly.

Eren huffed, but he flicked his wand, muttering the needed spell to cast the patronus anyway, and the orca sprang forth. He watched it for a moment before he turned sideways, to watch his sister's reaction.

She was gaping, watching the orca glide through the room. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she was able to form a coherent sentence.

And when she did, she turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on her face and whispered “Oh Merlin, Eren!”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, they finally know Eren's patronus. An orca. What do you think? Good? :3
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATES: Would usually come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_. However, since my laptop was broken and I'm currently behind with my chapters (I only have one more already finished) I will not be updating in two weeks like i usually would, but three. That should give me enough time to get ahead of things again :)
> 
>  
> 
> So, the next chapter should be online on the 25th of june.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!  
> Levi's POV again :)  
> Enjoy!
> 
> As always, any and all mistakes are mine, since this isn't betad.

-16-

After seeing his sister and Eren off at the platform at the end of their holidays, Levi went to stop by his office.

Officially, he still had the rest of the day off, but he wanted to get some paperwork to take home with him so he wouldn't get bored later in the day. He knew he couldn't just leave his work at the office like some of the others of his colleagues could.

Levi couldn't relax, his mind couldn't stop working on the problems presented to him. Especially not when capturing Kenny Ackerman a few weeks ago just left the whole magical community in a kind of uproar.

On the public side, Kenny Ackerman had been an aspiring curse breaker for Gringotts, and while not usually well liked, he was at the very least respected by all of his colleagues. It also helped him that curse breakers usually worked alone or, occasionally, in teams of two or three people. They didn't do well in larger groups, their personalities too eccentric for most common people.

Kenny was no different. However, he came from a rather old pureblood family, meaning the public usually forgave him his eccentricity, playing it off as his charm and the peculiar mannerisms old pureblood families seemed to still uphold.

Now his background was causing trouble, though. The old families were indignant at his imprisonment, even though even they couldn't ignore the evidence Levi and Mike had gathered to prove Kenny's guilt. They still tried to downplay it and to rectify his actions before the wizengamot, though to no avail. Luckily, Levi had to say. No one wanted to know what would happen if Kenny would really manage to get out of Azkaban somehow.

Thinking about what would happen if he did, left Levi once again feeling confirmed in his decision not to go find his soulmate and to tell them not to come looking for him. He knew that if Kenny ever was to be released, the man would go after him and his loved ones. Levi knew that his family could defend themselves, however, he had no idea about his soulmate's abilities and he didn't want to risk it. Not to mention that he didn't want more people involved than absolutely necessary. Well, of course he couldn't really do anything against it if Kenny decided he wanted to involve everyone Levi knew and held dear, but he could at the very least try to minimize the amount of people Kenny knew Levi cared about.

The first week after Mikasa and Eren returned to Hogwarts went by rather uneventful for Levi. At least as long as he didn't count that one instance on Thursday, where his soulmate's patronus vanished from his skin -meaning his soulmate had managed to pull off the spell. It kind of let him dread the moment the orca would appear before him with a message, but it never came. Which was why he was happy that he was stuck behind his desk doing paper work, only occasionally going out with Mike to some Ministry function or to visit the trials of minor criminals, even though he itched to go out in the field again. Not that the head Auror would let him and Mike pick up another big case just yet. He'd said that the two of them needed to stay close by, in case something came up with Kenny's case and they were needed.

Levi called bullshit, though. The Auror department had more than enough capable people and he didn't doubt that every single one of them could take on anything and anyone that might be thrown their way. Levi and Mike didn't _need_ to be around all the time until things settled down some more. Besides, neither of them were great choices to handle the crowd of ministry workers when it came down to it. Because, just like the curse breakers of Gringotts, most of the Aurors were rather ...eccentric. Levi's stoicism and perpetual crassness as well as Mike's weird habit of sniffing people didn't exactly earn them a _'is great with people'_ -badge.

After bugging the head Auror on numerous occasions, the man finally assigned them a job. Kenny had apparently hinted to some of the guards at Azkaban that he'd had a secret hideout and now Levi and Mike were supposed to find it. So far, Levi had no idea where or what to look for, and if that place was hidden magically and under an anti-detection charm, they'd have their work cut out for them. Well, he supposed it got him out of his office, and that was really all that he had wanted, wasn't it?

They were searching Kenny's house for a second time, when it happened again. Levi felt a tingle on his skin, then nothing, and tensed. His soulmate had cast the patronus charm again. Did that mean that he would get a visit from the orca now? Would his soulmate demand answers he wasn't willing to give at the moment?

God, he really hoped that wouldn't be the case. He didn't want Mike to be a witness to that. Not because he would be embarrassed about it -and he knew Mike wouldn't tell anyone if the orca _did_ happen to show up- but Mike would probably ask a few questions at least, and Levi wasn't sure he wanted to answer them. A few minutes passed, and Levi was getting antsier with each second ticking by while nothing happened. No sign or sliver of a silver light anywhere.

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance, earning himself a questioning look from Mike. Shaking his head, he let his partner know that it was nothing to worry about and cast another disillusionment charm at a rather ancient looking bureau, hoping it would reveal _something_.

It rattled when he hit it with the spell, but other than that, nothing happened. Levi frowned at the piece of furniture like it had insulted him, while Mike moved on to the next room, probably hoping to have more luck in there than Levi had in here.

Mike hadn't been gone from the room for a minute when Levi felt his soulmate's patronus return to his skin. So he wasn't going to get a message from them just yet, huh? He felt relieved, though there was a little part of him -and that he tried very hard to ignore- that wanted to know what his soulmate's voice would sound like at the very least. Shaking his head to get rid of such distracting thoughts, he went back to searching Kenny's house for any hints to his secret hideout.

It was Mike who found something in the end. They had been searching Kenny's office, even turning up the floorboards, when Mike had leant against the wall while levitating the wood planks and waiting for Levi to check if there had been anything hidden under them.

They only heard the faintest of clicks, before a spot in the wall opposite of Mike slid back and to the side, revealing a secret passage. Mike must've leant against some kind of button or trigger or something.

“Well. I guess that's what we've been looking for.” Levi mused, waiting for Mike to place the floorboards back down before he headed to the entrance.

They had checked the wall and floor where Mike had stood, but couldn't find anything that could've served as the trigger, so they guessed it had to have been something else either of them had done.

Mike hummed, walking up to the passage and sniffed at the stale air that was released when the door opened.

“I don't think so. It smells like decay and desolation. There hasn't been anyone in here for a long time. I doubt Kenny even knew of this place.”

Levi huffed. “Tch. We should check it out anyway.” he decided and flicked his wand, casting a spell for detecting hidden traps.

When nothing happened, he carefully entered the passageway, whispering Lumos to have some light to guide them. Mike was following a step behind him, wand at the ready and surveying the passageway. It was barely wide enough for a broad-shouldered man like Mike to walk through without touching the walls on each side.

“This must've been added magically,” Mike hummed, “There wasn't any sign of this place on the maps.”

“Yeah. Probably some of Kenny's ancestors did it,” Levi agreed, “Careful, there's a stair here. We're going down.” he warned Mike.

The old steps squeaked and groaned under their weight, but held them nonetheless. At the end of the stairs, there was an old wooden door awaiting them. It was closed and didn't seem to have a handle or a knob to open it. Instead, there were intricate runes carved into it.

“These are runes. Can you read them, Mike?” Levi stepped aside to let Mike in front, even though he could probably easily look above Levi's head.

Levi had never been too good at ancient runes, and once he had left Hogwarts he hadn't exactly kept up his study of the subject. He probably should have, but who could have guessed he'd actually need runes again in his career as Auror? Not him, that was for sure.

“Let's see.” Mike lifted his wand, tracing the runes in the light of Levi's wand.

“Some of them seem to be more common runes, like the ones the druids and wizards of old used, others I can't make any sense of, much less tell where they might come from.”

“So we get an expert.” Levi decided.

He would not attempt to open a god-only-knows-how-old-that-door-was, only for it to release some ancient hidden magic that could rip them both apart for all he knew. No, he would not be risking that.

“You're right. Let's contact the head Auror, tell him what we found and to send some specialist over.”

They made their way back up to Kenny's office, where Mike cast his patronus and sent it to the ministry with their findings.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say to this one. I just hope you're still enjoying it, bc we're slowly but surely getting to the good stuff :D  
> I also planned out the next few chapters, and I realized YSOMS is probably going to be around 22-24 chapters, depending on where I intend to cut it for the Sequel :) So we're done soon! :3
> 
> UPDATES: Come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_
> 
>  
> 
> So, the next chapter should be online on the 9th of july.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update time!  
> Levi's POV again :)  
> Enjoy!
> 
> As always, any and all mistakes are mine, since this isn't betad.

-17-

The ministry's expert appeared ten minutes later. She was an old but tall witch, wearing simple, dark blue robes and a hat that had probably seen better days, her silver hair peeking out under the rim at odd angles. Levi guessed her to be in her sixties at least.

“Hello, Auror Ackerman, Auror Zakarius. My name is Ilka Drem. I'm the expert you asked for.” she introduced herself with a slight nod and the two of them offered her a greeting in return.

“Thank you for coming by so quickly, Mrs. Drem.” Mike smiled and bid her inside.

They let her lead the way down the creaking old stair and to the rune covered door. Both men had lightened their wands so the corridor was well illuminated. The witch looked the door over and then turned to them.

“It's good you didn't try to open it. These runes are interwoven with ancient spells. Magic so old that even the oldest of our records hardly provide any help.” she explained.

“Well. This house at least isn't ancient, and whoever built it didn't add this passage. It must've been added later on.” Levi pointed out.

“So you're saying someone else did, and they knew what they were doing.” the woman concluded, nodding.

Levi did have a point there.

“Exactly. Could you at least tell us what this ancient magic is about? Or how we can open the door without risking being torn apart?” Mike had been reading Levi's thoughts.

“Not right now. I'll need to do some research.”

“How long will you need?”

“That depends on what I'll find out, but I'd say at least two or three days.” the witch sighed, looking over the runes again.

“Okay.” both men nodded.

“We shall leave you to it, then.” Levi decided, and the woman got to work, copying the runes with a flick of her wand to a piece of parchment.

Levi and Mike left her then, going back up the stairs and to the office room they had been searching before they had found the hidden door.

“This obviously isn't his secret hideout.” Levi sighed.

“Yeah. We need to keep looking.”

“I doubt it's here, though. We should have found something by now. Maybe he's bluffing and there isn't any secret hideout at all?”

Mike shook his head, “I don't think he is.”

“Well, suppose he isn't; where could he have hidden any hints? Not to mention where could that damn hideout be, in the first place?” Levi carded a hand through his dark hair, ruffling it in the process. He didn't like this. This whole ordeal reeked of a set-up, if he ever saw any. He just couldn't tell _what_ it was that was wrong.

Mike sighed and crossed his arms, obviously thinking about it.

“Every magic leaves a trace. Any spell he cast within these walls can be revealed, I'm sure one of them will show us where to look. And if that fails, there's always his wand.”

Levi frowned. If that were the case, then why didn't Mike think of that earlier? Why did they have to turn the whole house upside down first? And why hadn't _he_ thought about that before?

He was about to voice his questions, when they heard steps come up the hidden stair.

“I've got everything, lads. I will let you know of anything I'll find as soon as I can.” Mrs. Drem informed them, smiling kindly.

“Thank you.” Levi offered her a nod and accompanied her outside, from where she would apparate back to the ministry.

Mike stayed back, probably surveying the room once more. That was fine with Levi. Like this, he could talk to the old witch without his partner overhearing.

“Say, Mrs. Drem-”

“Oh no, dear. Just Ilka is fine.” her eyes twinkled in a warm brown and she smiled again.

“Ilka.” Levi tried the name on his tongue, not sure what to think of the offer.

“You want to know what I think about that door. Why it's there or if I've ever heard of it before. Am I right?” she wanted to know, her words not unkind.

Levi nodded, even though he was surprised she had seen through him so easily.

“I'll be honest with you. I've never seen anything like this door ever before. Not in all my life. It's highly intricate and I'm sure only a true master of the subject could have made it.”

“Do you have any idea if one of Kenny's ancestors might have been such a master?” Levi frowned.

“I'm not sure. But I will see if I can find anything about it, dear. Now, it's time for me to go and for you to go back to work. I will let you know when I find anything.” she smiled again, and then turned on her heel, disapparating back to the ministry, most likely. Levi slowly returned back inside, lost in thoughts.

They had searched the house for any magic traces that weren't their own. It was tedious, time consuming work, and in the end they weren't even rewarded for it, because they didn't find anything. It was like no one had used magic in that house for a long time.

“Something doesn't add up, don't you think?” Levi slumped against a wall, tired.

“Yeah. If he actually lived in this house, he must've used magic. But we can't even find any traces of the spells he cast during your fight here.”

“How is that possible, though? He was under the body bind curse when we captured him, and he didn't have his wand. He couldn't have cast any silent spells or activated some hidden trigger like that.”

“I have no idea. Let's call it a day and come back tomorrow. Maybe we'll have come up with something, then.” Mike suggested, and Levi agreed.

They apparated back to the ministry to tell the head Auror of their findings and then get the day's paperwork done before they headed home.

During the next few days, they were busy, researching Kenny's family history, as well as their closest friends during the centuries. It didn't help that they could track the family almost a thousand years back through time. They hadn't always lived in Britain and had first moved here back during the time of the first Christianisation by the Anglo-Saxons, coming from the continent. It was tedious work and Levi would much rather be out in the field than be crammed behind his office desk _again_ , but there was nothing to do about it, until they found something. Either that, or Mrs. Drem -no, Ilka- let them know of her findings about that door.

So far, no one had informed Kenny of what they had found in his house, and Levi hoped it would stay like that for a little while longer. Preferably until they found out what that door was all about and why it was there in the first place. He was just about to open up yet another tome, full of family records, when a knock on his door stopped him. He sighed. Mike was out to get lunch for them and probably wouldn't be back for another twenty minutes, and he had no idea who it was, standing on the other side of the door.

“Enter.” he bid whoever it was inside, surprised to find it was the old rune expert.

“Ilka.” he nodded in greeting and offered her a seat in front of his desk.

“Auror Ackerman. It's good I found you.” the woman smiled grimly and sat down. Only now Levi noticed the heavy books she had been carrying with her.

“I take it you found something about that door, then?” he leant forward on his chair, propping his elbows on his desk and pressing the tips of his fingers together in curiosity.

“I did. And about the Ackerman family as well. That's why I hoped I would meet you alone, actually.”

Levi frowned. What was that about, now?

“Oh?” he muttered, hoping Ilka would get to the point soon but not wanting to pressure her.

“Yes. It was quite surprising, to be honest.” she set the books down on his desk and opened the one on top of the pile. She flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for and turned it around for Levi to read. The passage she pointed at was bleached out and almost unreadable, but he managed.

 

_The Ackerman family is known to be the only one capable of infusing magic_

_into inanimate objects with the help of runes. Their craft is a secret, only passed_

_on through the generations. It is said that this is the reason for their wealth and_

_status among the other wizarding families currently residing in Britain. The most_

_important one of their work might be the pensive, one of which there are currently_

_only three in existence. One is in possession of the current headmaster of Hogwarts,_

_School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, another is owned by a close friend to the Ackerman family_

_and the last is the personal pensive of the head of the Ackerman family._

 

After that, the passage became unreadable, but Levi had read enough to have a few questions for Ilka. Before he could say anything, though, she spoke up.

“I know it may be rude to ask, but since your name is Ackerman as well, I was wondering whether you might know anything about this?” she inquired, only for Levi to shake his head.

“No, this is the first time I hear about this.” he frowned, eyes skimming over the lines again.

“My parents died when I was only nine years old, and my sister and I were adopted by different families. If my father knew anything about it, he died before he could've told either of us.” he explained when he saw Ilka's questioning look.

“Oh, okay. I'm sorry to have asked. I didn't want to bring up sad memories.”

“It's alright. You couldn't have known.” he waved her off, “So you're thinking this 'talent' of the Ackerman's has something to do with that door?”

Ilka nodded, her expression becoming serious.

“Yes. I told you before that the runes were interwoven with old magic and spells no one knows about anymore in this day and age. Now knowing this” here she tipped her finger to the passage Levi had just read, “makes it all the more complicated. There might be magic infused in the door itself as well. And we hardly have a way of knowing, what kind.”

“So for all we know it could kill us instantly if we try to open it.”

“Worst case scenario, yes. Or nothing happens at all. Here.” she flipped open another book, reading the passage out loud this time.

“It is said that some magic, while interwoven with runes, is a lot stronger than cast with a wand or wandless magic. However, some of those magic interwoven runes lose their power over time. The magic weakens and eventually vanishes completely, leaving only the runes as witnesses to the magic once represented by them. Unfortunately, currently there is no way of knowing if runes have lost their magic or not, unless one is willing to simply try.” she closed the book again when she was done, looking at him contemplatively. Levi couldn't tell what she was thinking about, but judging by her look, it couldn't be anything too good.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeeell. What's going to happen now, hm? :3  
> Care to take a guess, anyone? x)
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATES: Come _every two weeks on saturday night time CET_  
>     
> So, the next chapter should be online on the 23rd of july.
> 
>  
> 
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop! Update time!
> 
> It's Mikasa's pov, everyone! I hope you'll like it! :D
> 
> As always, any and all mistakes are mine since this isn't betad. ^ ^"

-18-

Watching Eren's patronus glide through the room for several minutes, she tried to sort through her thoughts. Eren's patronus was an orca. The patronus on Levi's skin was also an orca. She had seen it. The patronus of Eren's soulmate was a jaguar, according to Eren. That left the question: _Was Levi's patronus a jaguar?_ She wasn't sure. He had never told her out of his own accord and she didn't want to pry, so she had never actually asked him.

This could all just be an unlucky coincidence. Maybe Levi's patronus wasn't a jaguar, and Eren wasn't his soulmate. Maybe she was just imagining things. Maybe she was worrying about nothing. Maybe her brothers weren't soulmates and nothing would have to change.

“Eren.” she quietly spoke her adoptive brother's name. After she had spoken a few minutes before, startling him into looking like a deer caught in the headlights, she had shushed him, because she knew he would launch into a flood of words to explain and she wouldn't have been able to understand anything. Looking at him now, he seemed to have calmed down somewhat.

“It suits you.” she offered him a tiny smile, and he looked relieved.

“Thank you, 'kasa. Have you figured yours out, yet?” He looked genuinely sorry he hadn't paid as much attention to her as he should have, probably.

“No. But the patronus of my soulmate is finally complete. It's a kingfisher.” she offered, rubbing over the sleeve of her robe where she felt the bird fly over her skin.

“That's awesome!” Eren grinned, not in the least perturbed.

“Thank you. Do you think you could help me with my patronus, now that you figured yours out? How did you do it, anyway?”

“Uhm, I guess I can try? But really, I think Armin did most of the work. I begged him to use his legilimency on me to help me find my happiest memory.” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

“He did?” she was surprised. She wouldn't have thought Armin would do that. Well, she knew he had tried to help Eren during the holidays, but she hadn't thought he would be willing to use his legilimency on Eren.

“Yeah Though he only agreed after I'd pestered him about it for days.” Eren laughed.

Mikasa huffed. Go figures Eren would do something like that to get his will. Poor Armin, to have put up with her annoying brother like that. Eren, knowing exactly what her huffing meant, shoved her lightly.

“Hey! I thought you wanted help?”

“I do, Eren. But it's just like you to go and pester Armin about this. Could you really not think of a good memory on your own?”

“I tried. But all I ever managed were incorporeal shields, varying in strength depending on the memory I used.” Eren shrugged.

“Oh. What's your memory, anyway?” Mikasa had to admit, she was curious about it.

“Nope, not telling!” Eren hopped off the table, flicking his wand to dissolve the orca.

“Hey, no fair!” she pouted, but decided to let it slide. For now, anyway.

That evening, their group of friends was sitting together at the Slytherin table for dinner. It was the first time since the end of the holidays that they all managed to sit together as a group again. With the upcoming exams, impromptu-study-sessions, homework and Quidditch training, one or two had always been missing. She sat down in between Armin and Jean, listening to the ongoing discussions between her friends.

Marco and Connie were talking about some hex Connie had found in one of the library books -he wanted to try it and Marco tried to talk him out of it since they didn't know what the spell would do. Eren and Sasha were talking about food while heaping huge helpings of mashed potatoes on their plates, and Jean and Armin discussed the essay they had to write for their charms class. She sat back and listened to all of them, placing toast, bacon and eggs on her plate.

“Connie! You can't just hex a first year with a spell you don't know the consequences of! What if the poor child gets severely hurt?” Marco reprimanded him, trying his best glare and failing.

“Aw, come on! If anything happens we can just take him up to the hospital wing and Mrs. Langner will fix him right up!”

“No! You're a seventh year, Connie! You should be more responsible than that!”

“Marco's right, you know?” Sasha agreed, for once not speaking with a full mouth.

“You too, Sash? I thought at least you'd be on my side on this!” Connie exclaimed, waving his fork around exasperatedly.

“Nope! Not this time!” she made it a point to look at her boyfriend in a rather serious manner and then went back to concentrate on her food.

“You're no fun!” Connie pouted but let the topic slide -for now.

Mikasa slowly ate her food while her friends talked, but eventually she had to stop when Eren spoke up.

“Uhm, guys? I need to tell you something.” he almost mumbled, too quiet for everyone to understand.

“Hm? What did you say?” Jean and Connie asked, both too occupied with their conversation to have understood Eren the first time.

“I said I have to tell you something.” Eren said again, a little louder now, though still only barely above a whisper.

“Oh. Go on, then? We're all ears.” Jean waved his hand in Eren's general direction, earning him a frown from him.

Eren didn't say anything though and just subtly waved his wand to cast a silencing charm around their group of friends. Obviously, he didn't want anyone else but them to hear what he was going to say. Mikasa had a feeling about what Eren wanted to tell them, and Armin seemed to have already guessed as well. The others just looked like a mixture of confusion and curiosity, not quite sure what to expect.

“You guys remember when I said I would let you know once I knew what my patronus is? Well, I know it. Now. Well, since last Thursday, actually, but that doesn't matter, does it?” he rambled, obviously not quite sure how to go about telling them.

That, and Mikasa wasn't sure if Eren was going to tell them about the patronus of his soulmate that had visited him before the break started.

“What?!”

“Why didn't you tell us sooner?”

“Eren, this is amazing!”

Eren had been wise to cast that silencing charm, so now no one noticed their group of friends shouting all over the place at Eren to tell them exactly what and how it happened and what his patronus was in the first place. If they could see and if he already knew who his soulmate was and if he had contacted them at all yet. Mikasa sighed, internally cringing at the thought. She knew Eren wouldn't have, not when his soulmate had so clearly told him not to get in touch with him. Oh, she was pretty sure Eren was angry about it and he probably wouldn't keep quiet about it much longer, but she guessed for that to happen Eren needed to feel fed up with the whole thing first. She knew Eren always tried to respect everyone's wishes, and that he would especially respect his soulmate's. Even if they were simply ridiculous.

Eren quickly tried to pacify their friends, ultimately promising them to show them his patronus after dinner. They would all go to the room of requirement and see it there.

The next morning at breakfast, the Great Hall was in an uproar when Mikasa and Marco entered it. Seeking out their friends sitting at the Ravenclaw table, they exchanged curious glances. What had happened now?

Everywhere whispered conversations where going on, people pointing at the already delivered Daily Prophet and looking concerned -some even frightened. Even the teachers at the high table looked concerned. Not even headmaster Pixis could hide his worry.

Sitting down next to Eren, Mikasa leaned over to get herself some pumpkin juice, while Marco addressed the question they both had left unsaid until they arrived at their friend's group.

“What's going on here? Why is everyone so nervous?”

Everyone who'd heard the questions turned their head to look at Marco. Some hissed at him, other's shook their head, and a few pointed to the Daily Prophet again. So it had to have been something in the Prophet that's got everyone in such an uproar, Mikasa decided.

“There was an outbreak at Azkaban last night.” Armin explained quietly, his looks grave, but not frightened like so many others.

“An outbreak?” Marco echoed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

“Yeah.” Connie nodded.

“Yup. Apparently a few more or less 'harmless' convicts got out, but what's worrying everyone-”

Here, Jean interrupted Sasha.

“-Is, that Kenny Ackermann escaped as well. Apparently he was held in a cell above ground since there should have been another hearing today, so he would have been easier to fetch. The guards at Azkaban said that throughout the whole escape thing, Kenny was exceptionally calm, like he'd actually expected it!” Jean huffed, crossing his arms.

Mikasa picked up the Daily Prophet lying in front of Eren and had a look at the front page. There, shown on a black-and-white picture taking up half of the side's space, was Azkaban, and beneath it, the photographs of the escaped prisoners. The headline read “ _First outbreak of Azkaban in a hundred years reported”_ The article explaining things further covered the first two pages of the paper, Mikasa discovered. Every escapee had a paragraph dedicated to their person and the crimes they committed, and at the end there was a statement of the Auror department, claiming they would do everything in their power to catch everyone, as well as a warning to immediately report every sighting of a convict to them.

She sighed.

“Well, so much for a calm summer.” Mikasa frowned. Unless the Aurors were going to capture Kenny soon, it meant that her plan of spending the Summer with both her brothers was not going to be a possibility.

Eren agreed with a nod and a hum, looking over the article again before taking the Paper away from her and stowing it away in his bag.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's it for today's update! I hope you enjoyed Mikasa's POV ^ ^"  
> Next one will be either Eren or Levi, I haven't decided that yet. 
> 
> Also, since I'll be starting work on August 1st, I won't have as much time to write as I would have liked, so updates may be slower from now on. I'm pretty sure I will need the time to adjust to my new daily routine and find time to write somewhere in between all of that.   
> Wish me luck for adjusting fast! :3  
>  
> 
> UPDATES: Would usually come every two weeks on saturday night time CET _HOWEVER, due to the aforementioned reason, the next update may take 3-4 weeks!_  
>   
>  So, the next chapter should be online on the 13th or 20th of august. _If I for whatever reason will not be able to update come 20th, I will make a post on[my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com) about it!_
> 
>  
> 
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, ok.  
> I know this is like, _super_ late, and I'm so so so sorry about it, but I just couldn't get it done earlier.  
>  I've been pretty busy with work and school and stuff and I guess I needed more time to adjust than I first anticipated. Oh well. Now the new chapter is here and you all can enjoy it!  
>  _I actually just finished it and thought I'd share with you guys asap!)_  
>  Mind, I don't have a beta -anymore- so any and all mistakes are on me! :D

-19-

“I doubt anyone would be willing to risk their live just to open a door.” Levi frowned. Of course, there were spells and hexes that might be able to open it, but who knew what might happen to the caster. So far, Ilka hadn't said she found a way to translate those runes or figured out something to make them potentially harmless to them. Levi doubted a simple but strong shield charm would do them any good.

“Yes.” she sighed, slowly nodding, “However, I managed to find something interesting that might be helpful to you and Auror Zakarius. It's a journal.”

“A journal? How would a journal be useful to us?” Levi was intrigued, though he couldn't yet see what this journal could possibly be about to be of use to them.

“It was written by a young woman that married into the Ackerman family a few hundred years ago. I haven't read all of it yet, and sadly there's some pages missing, ripped out, probably, but from what I saw, this might be able to get you some insight on Mr. Ackerman's motivations and his possible goals.” Ilka explained.

That made Levi even more curious. He glanced at the old, tattered journal Ilka still held in her hands, like it was a particularly precious treasure she needed to protect. It was obvious she didn't really want to let go of it. She would have to, though, Levi reasoned with himself, if she wanted Kenny to remain in Azkaban. Even though it wasn't very likely he was going to get out of there any time soon.

“Ripped out? She didn't protect it with magic?”

“No. Apparently, she was a muggle.”

“A muggle?” Not that he had anything against muggles, mind, but a few hundred years ago, some wizarding families, the Ackerman's included, were very interested in keeping their blood pure and clean, only marrying to other wizarding families of pure blood status, afraid that mixing their blood with muggles would somehow lessen their magic.

“Yes, a muggle. She hadn't even known about magic being real until she was actually married to that guy.” Ilka waved her hand, indicating at the journal, so Levi supposed the woman must've described her husband somewhere in there.

“Hmm.” Levi hummed. He couldn't see how this journal was going to help them, but just the fact alone that one of his probable ancestors had married a muggle was intriguing enough to at least have a look at the thing, he supposed.

“You should have a look at it.” Ilka said again, and finally placed the journal on his desk.

Levi nodded, looking at the book, but he didn't make a move to pick it up and actually open it just yet. He would wait with that until the older witch would have left again.

Levi had taken the books Ilka had brought him home with him, after he'd shown them to Mike. Only to be told that since it was Levi's -extended- family, he should be the one doing all the reading. Of course Mike would say that, Levi thought, but he could always fill him in about the important bits and pieces later on, he figured. Sure, it wasn't really nice to be left to do all that reading on his own, but he suspected Mike left him to do it on his own because he didn't want to be snooping into matters that maybe he shouldn't. Even if it would be unintentional.

He had gotten comfortable on his couch and started reading the journal Ilka had given him only after he promised to take good care of it. And now he was reading. Most of it wasn't very interesting, he had to admit. Just the ramblings and concerns of a young woman who was thrown in an environment she knew nothing about and had hardly any idea how to navigate. She wrote the first time she saw a house elf she was so shocked she could only stare at them, and she didn't understand that these little creatures were there to do her bidding and to serve the family.

He wondered when he would reach the part Ilka had mentioned, the one where the woman described the things Kenny might be after, even after all this time. He didn't dare to skip anything though, for fear he might miss something. And then it started. The first half of the journal was fairly consistent, with hardly any torn out pages, but after that, more on more pages were missing and whole passages were scratched out, made unreadable. Levi tried to make the scratched out parts readable again, but the spells he tried didn't work, so he figured there must be some magic preventing him from doing so. He wondered if Ilka knew and if he should ask her tomorrow.

For now, he concentrated on what he could find, though.

 

_Today I asked Vika about the door at the end of the secret passage I found the_

_other day. The poor thing got so scared Master Ackerman would punish her_

_because she let me find out -it wasn't her fault, though!- she almost managed to_

_break all her fingers, had I not prevented her from doing so! Eventually I_

_managed to calm her down and promised her I would talk to him. He said I was_

_to never mention that door ever again -to anyone! He looked angry, but he_

_promised Vika wouldn't be punished for something that wasn't her fault. I'm glad._

_He made me promise I would never approach the door again, said it would be_

_best if I just forgot I ever saw it in the first place. I wonder what's hidden in that_

_room that he can't even tell his wife about! Shouldn't I know about things like that?_

 

After that, more pages than not were missing, and Levi could only ever read snippets of what the woman wrote. The journal ended on a slightly unsettling note.

 

_I hope this journal will one day find its way to the right hands. I'm leaving it_

_with Vika. I've got to leave. They are coming._

 

He wondered who 'they' might be, and what had happened before. Again he tried to make the scratched out passages readable -to no avail. With a sigh, he closed the journal and placed it on his coffee table. There was nothing for it, he supposed. Something had happened back then, and thanks to the dates the woman provided with every entry, he could at least look up the Ackerman's family history to try and see if something significant happened during that time. He doubted he would find anything, though.

If the door was meant to be kept secret, he wasn't too sure it would appear in any of the family's chronicles. However, there might still be some hints. Whatever happened, it must have left some kind of evidence worth noting in the family's history.

He was still lost in his thoughts when a tapping noise on his window brought him back to reality. For a moment he was confused about it before he realised it was Mikasa's tawny owl, wanting to be let in. He wondered why she would send him a letter again, since he still hadn't answered the last one she wrote only a few days prior. Had something happened?

Frowning, he opened the window to let Cale in. The owl flew a circle through the room and then settled on his coffee table after dropping the letter it had brought into Levi's hands. It hooted quietly and Levi absentmindedly went to get some owl treats while he scanned the letter.

There wasn't really anything in it that he didn't know already, so really, why did she write that letter? And then he saw it.

“ _Also, Eren's said he's going to help me with my patronus, now that he's got his figured out! He said he wasn't sure how he could help me, since Armin helped him get it right, but I'm sure he'll be a good teacher. Better than the professor who's teaching it, at least. I'm really excited over Eren's patronus, and I'm sure, you'd be too, when he tells you! By the way, I'm not sure you never mentioned what your patronus is? I'm kind of hoping mine will be something strong and fierce, that would be so amazing, don't you think?”_

He smiled, reading that. It was so like her to wish for a patronus like that. Never mind that all patronuses were strong and fierce in their own way, if the memory that conjured them was strong enough. Shaking his head, he sat down on the couch again, handing the owl treats to Cale and summoning paper and a pen to write an answer letter. He should have written her anyway, so why not now?

Early that morning -too early to be awake- he was woken by a patronus. He didn't know whose it was, he had never seen a Chinese Fireball Dragon patronus before. And then it delivered a message, spoken with the voice of Erwin Smith, the head of the Auror Department.

“Mr. Ackerman. The Auror Department requires your presence at the Ministry immediately. Details will be given to you once you arrive. Time is of essence. Hurry.” it said and then vanished, probably to deliver a similar message to the other Aurors.

Despite being still groggy and half asleep, Levi quickly stumbled out of his bed, threw on the first batch of clean clothes he could find and hurried to his fireplace. Not being fully awake yet, he didn't want to risk apparating and possibly splinching himself.

Stepping out of the floo, he witnessed the Atrium filled with people from all branches of the ministry, all in different states of waking up and severe bed-heads. Apparently, no one had taken the time to get a brush through their hair in their haste to get here.

Levi frowned. What had happened that basically the whole ministry was abuzz? While he wove his way through the crowd, he tried to listen to peoples quiet chatter, but no one could provide him with any useful information. There were a few rumours, but one was even more ridiculous than the other.

Arriving at Mr. Smith's office, Levi found most of the other Auror's already there. He made his way over to Mike.

“Do you know what this is all about?” he asked quietly, voice still raspy from sleep. Hell, he had tumbled out of bed not even five minutes ago.

“No idea. Must be important, though, when they ordered pretty much everyone here, though.” Mike shrugged.

They had to wait five more minutes before everyone was there, and then Mr. Smith got up from his seat at his desk.

“Thank you all for coming here on such short notice.” he nodded to the room of assembled Aurors, “I'm afraid I have bad news for all of you.”

Levi's eyes narrowed. This couldn't be good. Well, being ordered out of bed was never good, but having the head of his department word it so clearly made it all the more worse.

“The minister got word from Azkaban just about twenty minutes ago. There has been an outbreak. Several convicts have escaped. Some minor criminals, but one big fish as well.” here, Mr. Smith looked directly at Mike and Levi.

“Looks like your dear friend Mr. Ackerman escaped as well, Aurors Zakarius and Ackerman.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I hope you enjoyed it! Not much really new information in this one, but a little, so I guess it should be fine :D
> 
> QUESTION: _Is there anyone willing to be my beta? It wouldn't just be Ysoms, but for my other fics as well, so before you say yes, please keep that in mind! Feel free to hit me up on tumblr if you'd want to! :)_
> 
> UPDATES: Would usually come every two weeks on saturday night time CET _HOWEVER, due to the aforementioned reason, the next update may take 3-4 weeks! I'll let you know once everything calms down and I can get up a regular schedule again êe_  
>   
>  So, the next chapter should be online at the end of september at the very latest. I will try to get it done by then, promise! 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGH
> 
> I am again sorry this took me longer than I thought it would -BUT! good news, this chapter is a tad bit longer than usually, so I guess that makes up for leaving you all hanging like I did, right? :D  
> I have no excuse other than I was being a lazy bum whenever I wasn't actually busy with work or school stuff x_x
> 
> But it's finished now and I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter! :D  
> As always, this is unbetad, so any and all mistakes are on me ^^"

-20-

The rest of the term went by in a blur for the seventh-years. With the upcoming exams looming above their heads and the continuing articles in the Prophet about the outbreak of Azkaban they had hardly time for anything else. They couldn't even enjoy the good weather outside, being cooped up in the library or their common rooms, studying and revising their notes. Eren spent most of his free time -well, what little he actually had- helping Mikasa with her patronus.

She still hadn't quite mastered the spell, only ever producing white mist, much like he had in the beginning. One time she had managed a nebulous form, but she didn't manage to do it again after that, claiming she wasn't even sure what memory she had been thinking about. Eren thought that was bullshit, and he did call her out on it, but she wouldn't budge. So he let it go. He didn't forget it, though. He asked Armin if he would help, but he declined.

“No, Eren. Unless she's asking me to do this herself I will not use legilimency on her. You know what could happen if I did it against her wishes.”

Eren frowned. Of course he knew. Armin had warned him about those consequences more than enough when he had finally agreed to help him that way. “I know. It still sucks, though. I wish she would just accept the help. I know she wants to know her patronus and find out who her soulmate is.”

“Don't we all, though?” Armin hummed, a contemplating look on his face. “By the way Eren, did you ask Levi about his patronus yet? Is he your soulmate?”

Eren huffed and crossed his arms, the notes he' been taking on a charm he should have learned back in fourth year forgotten. “No. And I won't. I'd rather not know, Armin.” he frowned, looking around them. The library wasn't exactly empty, but they had a table in one of the corners to themselves, so the chances of being overheard were relatively low. Eren still didn't want to take any risks, though, muttered “Muffliato” and with a flick of his wrist, their words wouldn't be heard by the rest of the people in around them. He could just tell Armin wasn't willing to drop the topic just yet.

“But why?! Eren, everyone -and _especially you_ \- would want to know their soulmate. If I were in your place I would've asked him already! Heck, just think of the memory that got you your patronus in the first place! Clearly he's already important to you, _so why don't you tell him already?!_ ” he threw up his hands in annoyance at his best friend and Eren glared at him. He didn't raise his voice, though.

“You know, for someone who is supposed to be the brightest wizard of our year, you are surprisingly dense, Armin. Have you really not figured it out yet?” Eren questioned.

Now it was Armin's turn to frown, his clear blue eyes taking a darker shade while he was thinking about what Eren said. Eren gave him some time to figure it out, but when after a few minutes all he got was a head-shake and a frustrated sigh, he gave up waiting.

“You pretty much said it already, Armin. Levi _is_ important to me even now. That's why I absolutely _can't_ tell him! Just think about it: Like this I can stay around him and be a part of his life. If I told him, however, and he really is my soulmate, I'd have to stop all contact with him. Remember the message he sent me back in march? After my birthday? ' _I will be no one to you, just as you will be no one to me.'_ Does that not sound to you like he would really cut me out of his life if he knew? I just don't want to risk that. I mean, I know I am stubborn and hard-headed and probably one of the most persistent people to exist, but Levi is worse. You know that, Armin. If he finds out I'm his soulmate? Gods, he might even obliviate me and make it so that I think I never knew him in the first place!” Eren ranted. And he would've gone on and on, had Armin not chosen to stop him right there.

“No, Eren! He would never obliviate you. He would have to alter everyone else's memories as well so that they all think you two don't know each other. And I doubt he'd be willing to put that much effort into it. Not to mention that it's illegal. Memory alterations are always supervised or issued by the ministry's officials.” he explained.

“Still! Then he'd just cut me off and pretend I didn't exist. Armin, I can't have that happening! I'd rather have him in my life like this than not at all, don't you understand?” Eren tried to explain and Armin hummed.

“I do. What I don't understand, however, is what you're so afraid of. That's not like you at all.”

“I'm not afraid! I just don't want to lose him, Armin.”

“So you'd rather settle for something less than what you both deserve and suffer than take a risk and probably get something better and even more amazing than you could ever imagine?” the blond frowned. He kind of understood where Eren was coming from with this, but he still believed he was just too much of a chicken shit to face the situation he was in. And it wasn't even confirmed that Levi actually _was_ Eren's soulmate.

“Yes.” Eren glared at him and picked up his long abandoned quill.

“Fine, then. As long as we don't know for sure whether or not the two of you are actually soulmates you don't have to tell him. But once we know figure it out, you really should, Eren. Maybe he won't push you away at all. Aren't you guys pretty much like a family already?”

Eren didn't answer, already back to concentrating on his notes. Obviously, to him the conversation was over. Armin sighed and went back to his studies as well. He would probably consult with Mikasa about this matter, but only once the exams were over. They all didn't need any more drama in their lives than they already had.

Exams came and went, all of them passing with pretty much the grades they were aiming for. Armin was, as was to be expected, top of the class, closely followed by Mikasa and Eren, who came in second and third respectively. The last week before they'd have to board the Hogwarts Express for the last time to take them back home was spent relaxing down by the lake, reminiscing the past years, the adventures they had all had together. All the good and the bad times, and what they were going to do now that they were 'real' wizards and witches.

Most of them already had an idea of what they wanted to do with their life, and the rest would figure it out soon enough. Mikasa had just that morning been offered a trainee spot in the ministry's department of magical law enforcement and Eren would be starting his training to be a curse breaker for Gringotts soon. Armin planned to keep studying magic and then maybe apply for a job at the ministry as well.

By the time they all boarded the train for the last time, they had all but forgotten about the outbreak of Azkaban. The last report in the Daily Prophet had been two weeks or so ago and it had been a rather short one, merely stating that the Aurors still hadn't caught all of the escapees. Surely, Kenny Ackermann was the most dangerous of the bunch, but he was nowhere to be found. People even suspected he wasn't even in Britain anymore, so the students of Hogwarts weren't too worried. In fact, they were anything but.

The summer holidays were just a train ride away and they were all eagerly making plans. The compartments were packed and loud, there were sounds of spells being cast, games played, conversations and happy laughter. The younger students ran around in the halls, playing catch with a Quaffel one of the older students must have transfigured for them.

Eren's group of friends had found a compartment in the back half of the train, where it was not quite as busy and loud. They all tried to relax and cherish the -for now at least- last time they would be together like this, talking quietly among each other and reminding each other of all the things they did during their time at Hogwarts. None of them expected anything to happen during their last hours on the train, and that was when it happened.

The train abruptly stopped, the breaks were screeching, students tumbled down the hall and from their seats, loudly complaining and a few of the younger ones were even crying. Looking out of the window, Eren frowned. They had stopped in the middle of a long bridge spanning a deep valley. In all his time at Hogwarts not once the train had stopped before it reached its designated station.

“Someone should go to the front and see what's up.” Connie observed after he got up from the floor, where he'd fallen when the train stopped.

“You should leave that to the head girl and boy and the prefects. It'll just get crowded otherwise. And I'm sure they'll just make an announcement in a bit, explaining why we stopped.” Armin argued and everyone could see the logic in that.

So they waited.

And waited.

The train didn't move again, and slowly but surely the students became uneasy. Something was up.

“Okay, clearly there's no statement coming. So I'm going to go see what's going on with that.” Connie decided and Sasha got up to go with him.

It felt like another hour had passed before the next thing happened, but it really only were a few minutes at most. Connie and Sasha still weren't back and now even Armin was concerned.

“What is going on? Why are we not moving? And why are they still not back?” he muttered, leaning out into the hall in hopes of spotting their friends making their way back to them.

Unfortunately, they weren't. But it was then that they started hearing the screams. Quiet and far away at first, but becoming louder by the minute and more and more students were streaming from the front to the back of the train. Mikasa caught one of the students and pulled her inside their compartment.

“Christa! What's going on? Why is everyone running?”

The girl had a sightly fearful expression on her face, though she clearly tried not to let it affect her.

“It's Kenny. The wizard that escaped from Azkaban. He's here. He stopped the train.”

“What is he doing here?! Why is he attacking a train full of children?” Jean exclaimed, obviously worried now.

“I don't know, but you guys better head further back as well.” Christa frowned and turned to leave.

“Wait! Have you seen Connie and Sasha? They went to the front to check what was going on.” Marco held her back.

“No, I'm sorry. Ymir went, too, and I haven't seen her since, either.” her bottom lip wobbled. She was about to cry, everyone could tell, and they let her go then.

“So, what do we do? Stay here and wait for that lunatic to find us?” Jean obviously wanted to do something.

“No, of course not. We help the others get the younger ones to safety in the back.” Mikasa decided and held her wand to her throat, mumbling the Sonorous-charm.

“Attention, students. You might know already, but it appears the Hogwarts Express is under attack. Please everyone move to the back of the train where the sixth- and seventh-years will set up a safe place for you. Don't panic and don't push each other. There's enough room for everyone.” she ended the charm, “Well, we better get going. We're going to need a whole lot of enlarging-charms before the last wagon can house all of Hogwarts' students.”

They never got that far, though. By now the screams of the students running to the end of the train had become loud, and Eren figured Kenny had reached their wagon. He could see students run by their compartment, dodging spells and jinxes that were thrown at them. Those hit by them stumbled or fell. He couldn't see if they got up again.

The others got up to join the students to head to the back and protect the younger ones, casting Protego-charms and sending their own jinxes down the hall to slow down Kenny.

The moment Mikasa and Eren stepped out of their compartment, Kenny gave a cry of triumph.

“Ha! Finally, I found you, Ackermann!” he charged for Mikasa, wand raised and a wild gleam in his eyes.

To Eren it was obvious that Kenny couldn't be up to anything good with his sister. After all, it had been her brother who had captured him back in march. So it was no surprise that he would go after the only family Levi had left to take his revenge out on. Kenny didn't expect Eren to interfere, though. He stepped in front of his sister, shielding her from Kenny's spells with his body before he cast a shield-charm.

“Mikasa, go with the others! I'll hold him off. Get someone to send word to the Aurors!” he pushed her back when he realized she wasn't following the others.

“No, Eren! I will not leave you! You need help!” she argued, fighting against him and getting up her own shield.

“Mikasa! You and I are the best duellists in this train right now. If we fail here, who's going to protect the rest? If he gets by me, you'll still be there to slow him down and hold him off until the Aurors arrive! Think about it!” he tried to reason with her.

It took her only a second to realize he was right. She gave him a firm nod and then turned and ran down the hall, shooing the last dazed stragglers along in front of her, while Eren turned to face Kenny.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, mean cliffhanger, eh?  
> Let's see who can guess what'll happen next? :3
> 
>  
> 
> Also. This fic is now officially one year old. Can you believe it? I certainly can't. Time went by so fast QAQ
> 
> UPDATES: Would usually come every two weeks on saturday night time CET _but since I'm still super busy and my friends and I decided to hold a mini secret santa I'll be busy with preparing that gift as well. The next update should hopefully be online around christmas, though._  
>   
>     
> Also, everyone wanting to talk Au's or fic is absolutely welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops.
> 
> I said I would get it done around christmas, didn't I? It's a wonder I actually managed to keep my promise, though, with all the stuff that's going on.  
> And I haven't actually started on that Secret Santa my friends and I were planning QAQ  
> Gotta start working on that now... °^°
> 
> anyways, enjoy Levi's POV :D
> 
> oh, and as always, any and all mistakes are mine, since this isn't betad x)

-21-

He would have liked it more had he already been waiting at Platform 9¾ for the Hogwarts train to arrive, but alas, he wasn't. Probably wouldn't be, either. His department had been busy all day so far, investigating and tracking various magical accidents that had transpired in cities all over Britain. There was no doubt in his mind that Kenny had something to do with that, and he would have liked it very much had he known what that lunatic was up to.

However, none of them had so much as a clue about that. So far, most of them had thought the guy wasn't even on the isle anymore. Levi frowned. It was obvious by now that they had been wrong about that, but it was no use agonizing about it when they couldn't change it anyway. They'd just have to do anything they could to catch him again and send him back to Azkaban.

And that time, Levi would make damn sure Kenny couldn't escape again.

“Levi? Come on. We've got another assignment.” Mike pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Oh?” They had barely even finished the one they had been working on all morning.

“Yes. Some muggles up in Bradford saw a herd of flying cows. We need to find out who sent them flying and why. And then get someone to interrogate and obliviate those muggles.” Mike pinched the bridge of his nose. It was obvious he didn't like that any more than Levi did.

“Okay. Let's get going then. The sooner we get it done, the better.”

Taking care of the cow incident cost them almost all of their afternoon, and Levi was dead tired by the time they got back to their office at 5.30 pm. He didn't even get a moment's rest, though. The whole department was in an uproar. Utter chaos and mayhem were everywhere. No one even took notice of the two retuned Aurors until the head Auror himself stepped out of his office and made his way over to them.

“Ah, Mike, Levi. Good, You're back.” Erwin nodded to himself and waved them over.

Levi wondered what had gotten his boss out of his office.

“Erwin, what's going on?” It was Mike asking that question. The blond man frowned.

“It may be better if we discussed that in my office, not out here.” he shot a dubious look at Levi, who had no clue what was happening in that moment.

“Okay, sure.” Mike shrugged and they followed Erwin back to his office.

The door closed with an audible click behind them and a sense of dread washed over Levi when Erwin gestured for them to sit down.

“Levi. I'm really not happy to be the bringer of bad news, but someone has to tell you since you'd find through someone else otherwise.” he paused, placing his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers together in a thoughtful manner.

“Stop beating around the bush and tell us what is going on already.” Levi almost growled and Mike placed a placating hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away.

Erwin took a deep breath. “The Hogwarts Express has been attacked by Kenny an his underlings earlier this afternoon. Several students had to be brought to St. Mungo's for treatment.”

Levi clenched his his fists and bit on his tongue.

“My sister?”

Erwin sighed, shaking his head. Levi was already fearing the worst when the man finally spoke.

“In St. Mungo's as well. Those who brought her in said she was the worst of the ones who were injured. The students said she was duelling Kenny to protect them until the Aurors arrived. The healer's didn't know what curse hit her when I heard about it, but I'm sure they're dong everything they can to get her back on her feet in no time at all.”

Levi hadn't noticed his breathing had stopped and now he had to force some much needed air into his lungs. He was pale like a ghost and the worry for his baby sister didn't allow him to think clearly. Erwin kept talking.

“She was unconscious when she arrived at St. Mungo's, but the healers said she would come around soon enough. I wish I could let you go to check on her, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait. We need all the help we can right now, to question all the students and those of Kenny's underlings we managed to capture. Her adoptive parents are with her, though, so you don't have to worry she'd be alone at St. Mungo's when she wakes up.”

He nodded numbly. Carla and Grisha were with her, and he was pretty sure Eren wouldn't leave her side, either.

“Fine.” he muttered, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

Erwin nodded, probably relieved that Lei didn't make a scene.

“What do you need us to do?” Mike asked then, because Levi was obviously not in the right state of mind to be of any use at the moment.

“Go help the Aurors that are already on the case, searching the Hogwarts Express for any hints. Help with questioning the students, see what you can find; if anyone saw something that might be important to us.” Erwin ordered and then dismissed them from his office.

Mike had to practically drag Levi along at first, but the farther away they got from the room, the steadier his steps became. His face became a mask of determination and by the time they reached the apparition point, it was Levi dragging Mike along.

They were met with a crowd of students when they arrived at the Hogwarts Express. Aurors and mediwizards and -witches were hurrying this way and that way, questioning and healing the students or investigating one thing or another.

Levi couldn't say who of the Aurors was in charge of the case and Erwin hadn't said anything. He sighed. He wanted to get this over with so he could go check up on Mikasa.

“Come on, let's see what we can do.” he muttered and walked over to the closest Auror.

“Oh, Mike, Levi! Good you're here. We could use all the help we can get! Terrible thing, to attack a train full of undefended students, isn't it?” the woman sighed, flicking her wand at a cut on the forehead of a first-year boy and then sending him off to stand with the other kids of his year.

Mike and Levi waited until the boy was out of earshot and then began talking about the case.

“Indeed. Do we know what Kenny wanted to achieve with this?” Mike asked.

She shook her head.

“No, I'm afraid, not. Some students said he might have been looking for something -or someone, they couldn't agree on either. Probably still too panicked and afraid to really remember much of what little they heard him say.” she obviously wasn't happy with that, but who could blame the kids? They were fearing for their lives and trying to get to safety before anything else.

“Looking for something? In a train full of students?” Levi shook his head. It made no sense whatsoever. What could Kenny possibly want with a train packed with Hogwarts students?

“Yes, apparently so. If you could help question the sixth- and seventh-years, that would be great. We didn't get to ask them yet, mostly because we had to take care of the wounded and young ones first.” the woman waved them over to a cluster of older students who were already wearing their muggle clothes and taking care of a gaggle of first- and second-years that were still scared out of their minds.

Levi spotted Mikasa's and Eren's group of friends almost immediately. They were standing in a close circle, shutting everyone that didn't belong to their group out effectively. He set course for them and gestured for Mike to start on one of the other groups.

“Hey guys,” he greeted them, “care to fill me in on what happened on the train?”

They looked at each other first, unsure of who would get to tell the tale. Sasha and Connie still looked shaken, and Connie sported an ugly bruise above his left eyebrow. Jean and Marco looked grim and Armin was obviously the most concerned of all of them.

Levi decided he would concentrate on Armin. The blond's logical mind and thinking were the most likely to provide him with answers.

“Well, Kenny attacked the train, as you probably already know. We didn't know that at first, though. The train just suddenly stopped on that bridge.” Armin pointed to the construction looming in the distance, the last two wagons still standing on it. “At first we thought it might just be a technical problem and that we would keep moving eventually, but nothing happened. Not even an announcement. Connie and Sasha went to the front to see what was going on, but they never came back before everything just got worse. The children from the first few wagons were all rushing to the back of the train, were our compartment was located. And, well ...” He stopped then, obviously unsure of what else he was supposed to say.

“Well? Mikasa must've gotten herself into St. Mungo's somehow, so would you please tell me how my baby sister ended up in there unconscious and most likely hurt?” It came out a lot harsher than he had intended it to, but he couldn't help it. He was worried about her.

Armin opened his mouth to answer, but Jean jumped in to help him.

“Woah, chill, Levi. He was getting to that, okay? It's not exactly easy for any of us, losing two of our best friends at once.”

The others paled.

“What do you mean, losing two of you?”

“Uh- Did I say 'two'? I meant 'three'! Three of us! Though Connie and Sasha are back with us by now -thank Merlin for that!” Jean looked sheepishly and the others exchanged worried looks. Hopefully Levi would buy that excuse.

“Uhm, I'm not sure what you already know, but she's been duelling Kenny to keep him from reaching the rest of the students who were all taking shelter in the last two wagons. We didn't actually see what happened during the duel, but we think Kenny left as soon as he heard the first of the Aurors arriving. By that time she must've been unconscious already.” Armin looked uncomfortable explaining all that to Levi, though Levi couldn't tell why that would be the case. They couldn't have done anything to help her, could they?

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say to this one.  
> Who else is curious about what happened to Eren?! xP
> 
> UPDATES: The next update will most likely be after New Year's. Probably middle/end of january. No promises, though ^^'  
>   
>    
> Also, everyone willing to be tumblr-buddies is welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. It's not quite the middle of january anymore, _but_ it's still january, so there. I did not fail my promise completely, right? xD
> 
> This was betad by my wonderful honeybun, the fish :3 Go check out [their tumblr](http://thesadisticsiren.tumblr.com/), they've got awesome stuff and are just super amazing and adorable (also, [they write](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SadisticSiren/pseuds/SadisticSiren) too, so go check out their fics as well ♥)
> 
> Anyway. I'm not gonna keep you from reading any longer. I've kept you waiting long enough, I suppose. Here, have some much needed and highly demanded Eren pov :3

-22-

He woke up with a splitting headache and cursed himself for not realizing what Kenny was about to do once he discovered that Eren was Levi's brother. Well, adopted brother, and technically not even that, but that was _not_ something the evil wizard needed to know.

Duelling Kenny alone wasn't one of his best ideas, he'd admit that, and he would've probably had a better chance of winning if Mikasa and he had stayed together, but; what's done was done, right?

The stunner Kenny had hit him with was certainly as strong as Mikasa's -if not, even stronger, and Eren had trouble blocking most of the wizard's hexes and curses. He had just been lucky the wizard hadn't realized he could do wandless and wordless magic. Or else he would've probably cast a charm on him that made him lose his voice. His wand was already gone when he woke up, but that was just common sense to take away your opponent's wand once you defeated them. But since Eren didn't really need it anyway, he wasn't too bothered about it at the moment.

Groaning, he rolled on his back, carefully rubbing his forehead. That stunner really did a number on him, that much was obvious. He just hoped that stunner would remain to be the only hex Kenny aimed for him. Another one or more of those and he wasn't sure he'd wake up quite so soon again. Though he should probably be glad that the man hadn't hit him with an unforgivable just yet. He certainly could have while Eren was unconscious, defenceless. Of course he knew that probably just meant that Kenny had further plans for him and needed Eren with his wits about him, but he wasn't too worried about that. For now, at least.

He quietly muttered the Tempus-charm to figure out how long he'd been passed out.

“It's 5.53pm!” the charm let him know, and Eren groaned. That meant he'd been out of it for around two hours at least. He wasn't sure when exactly Kenny knocked him unconscious, but he figured it should have been some time before 4pm. That already was quite long and he could only hope that while he was out of commission, nothing happened to Mikasa and the kids on the train. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he hadn't succeeded in at least slowing the wizard down considerably to give the Aurors time to arrive at the Hogwarts Express.

Thinking back on it, he wasn't even sure how long he had duelled Kenny. He only remembered turning around after sending Mikasa away with the others and immediately throwing up a shield-charm to avoid being hit by one of Kenny's more harmless hexes.

From then on it was only throwing hex after hex, jinx after jinx, curse after curse, until one of them made a mistake. Eren was sure he'd hit the man with one of the nastier hexes, when Kenny stopped blindly firing curses and instead stopped to think. He still had his own shield-charm up to prevent Eren from hitting him with any more jinxes, though. Eren took that moment to cast a stronger shield-charm and look behind himself to see if everyone else had finally left the wagon the two of them were duelling in.

He couldn't spot anyone.

Glad about that, he turned back to Kenny, who now had his wand raised, aimed straight at Eren's chest. “I don't really want to hurt you, or anyone else on this train, boy, but I will if you don't deliver Levi Ackerman's sibling to me.”

Eren frowned. What did that horrible man want with his sister?

“What do you want with them? And what makes you think anyone would just give them up to you?” He purposely did not reveal that Levi's sibling was a girl, since Kenny didn't seem to know that.

“That's none of your business, boy. Now, step aside, or I'll have to make you.”

He had to think quickly. There was no way he could warn the others without Kenny noticing, and he sure as hell wouldn't allow Kenny to take Mikasa away. Not only would Levi most certainly kill him for not taking care of her, but he himself would beat himself up over it as well. Telling was not an option, therefore.

“And if I tell you that _I_ am Levi's brother?” he offered carefully, still thinking about what kind of reaction those words would get him.

He wasn't prepared for the instant stunner that blasted straight through his shield and hit him square in the chest, effectively rendering him unconscious, though. And that was how he found himself, well, wherever it was he was at the moment. Deciding that it wouldn't be worth thinking about just now, Eren shrugged and slowly got to his feet. He should at least check whether he could leave the room, or if he was locked in.

He _was_ locked in. The door wouldn't budge an inch, and his quietly muttered charms didn't do anything about that. Sighing, Eren resigned himself to wait in the sparsely furnished room until either Kenny came back for him, or the Aurors to break this place down and rescue him. Of course, he'd probably be able to free himself if he wanted to; but he wanted -no, needed- to know what Kenny wanted with Mikasa. So he wouldn't leave even if he could.

He wouldn't send his patronus away, either. If Kenny saw it as it left to find help, he’d most likely bring on the evil wizards wrath even further. Not to mention that if he did call for it, the chances that Levi would realize who his soulmate was were higher than Eren would like.

And, if he also took comfort in the feeling of his soulmate's patronus on his own skin, nobody ever had to know.

Hours passed in complete silence. He was left to the quiet of the room he was in, with the only disturbance being his rumbling stomach every now and then. His last meal had been a chocolate frog from the trolley in the train, and that was hours ago. At one point he had repeatedly hit the door to try and get Kenny's attention -and hopefully, some food- but nothing happened. Wherever he was being kept, Kenny was nowhere near enough to notice Eren making a ruckus. Heck, he even tipped the empty dresser on the far wall over in hopes of finally getting noticed.

Nothing.

His stomach gave another loud rumble and Eren growled right back at it before patting it soothingly.

“Don't worry, I'll get you some food eventually. Just be quiet and let me think for now, okay?” he muttered, distracted by the white creature gliding through the locked door.

A patronus. A patronus he had never seen before, so it couldn't be his soulmate's, that much he was sure of. The jaguar still resided on his skin, currently sitting on the side of his neck, observing. He cocked his head to the side, watching the light creature and trying to remember if any of his friends had a lynx as a patronus. No one came to mind, but that didn't matter, because just then he heard the voice of his mother speak as if she was standing right in front of him.

“Eren! Oh dear Merlin, we only now found out that you weren't with the others when the Aurors arrived at the Hogwarts Express! Where are you? Are you alright? What happened? Armin and the others won't tell us and Mikasa's still unconscious! Levi is beside himself, worrying over both Mikasa and you! Didn't I tell you more than often enough not to go and play the hero? Did you learn nothing from your parents? Eren I swear to Merlin himself that if you don't come back in one piece I will personally see to it that you will never be in one piece _ever_ again, so you better see that you get out of wherever it is you're at and come home immediately. Everyone is worried sick about you and no one can tell us anything about what happened! Eren, please! Armin said you mastered your patronus, and I _know_ you're quite adept at wandless magic so even if you for some reason don't have your wand right now, send your patronus to me or your father or really just any of your friends so we can know that you're alright!” The lynx patronus watched him with what he supposed was an accusing look while it delivered his mother's message.

For a moment, Eren held his breath, waiting while the creature dissolved into nothing and simultaneously hoping that Kenny had heard his mother's tirade and that he hadn't, because only Merlin knew what would happen to him when Kenny realized Eren wasn't Levi's brother. When, even a few minutes later, nothing happened, Eren sighed, relieved. Kenny hadn't heard anything, then. -If he was close enough that he could've heard anything, anyway.

He replayed his mother's words in his mind, his own worries growing with each word he remembered. Mikasa was unconscious -and, hopefully, in St. Mungo's for treatment, though his mother hadn't said as much-, his friends hadn't told her what he had been trying to do -play the hero, as she had so eloquently put it-, and now Levi had not only to worry just about Mikasa, but about him as well. That was nothing he had wanted to happen, but he couldn't change that now.

What was he going to do, now? Send his orca to his mother and tell her he was fine? That Kenny had abducted him in Mikasa's stead because he had lied to the man about his identity (never mind the fact that he had done so to protect his sister)? And what if he did? Would Levi be in the same room as her? Would he realize the orca on his skin was gone, only to learn that it was Eren's patronus?

Eren shook his head. No. He couldn't send it to his mother. And none of his friends, either, for fear they were with his parent's and Levi at St. Mungo's, visiting Mika.

So, what could he do? He knew that at the very least he had to let them know he was fine.

“That's it!” he grinned, digging through the pockets of his jeans for the charmed galleon Armin had given him a while ago. Finding it, he quickly scratched a message on it with a piece of splintered wood from the dresser and sent it on its way.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo? Eren is well enough, except for a rumbling stomach and a headache. You lot happy now? xD
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATES: I have actually _**no idea**_ about when I'll be able to get the next chapter up. Could be a month, could be two. I just hope I can get it done before the coming season, which start's around the end of february/beginning of march, if what I was told by my co workers is correct. êe  
>   
>     
> Also, everyone willing to be tumblr-buddies is welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. The new chapter clearly didn't happen in early march, like I hoped it would. It got incredibly busy at work in the middle of February and didn't really slow down until about three weeks ago, so I really didn't have a lot of time to write. Even though I wrote the first try on this back in january/early february, by the time i continued writing about a week and a half ago, I didn't like what I had already written at all, so I deleted it and started from scratch. Don't worry, I didn't delete a lot, only about 300 words or so, which is barely even 1/4th of the chapter.  
> I actually finished this a few days ago on Saturday, but I didn't want to update immediately because I wanted to wait a few days and then check what I wrote for any major mistakes I might have made (believe me, I found several and there might still be more ^^")  
> So, without further ado, have fun with another Levi POV :3

-23-

“I've got a message from him! He's fine, but he can't come home yet!” the blonde waved what looked like a Galleon around and Levi could only just make out the words that supposedly were Eren's message for them. The idea to use a Galleon to communicate over longer distances was extremely ingenuous, and he wondered when they had come up with it and why, but those questions could wait until another day. Preferably one when Eren was back with them and able to answer them.

Armin's words made him feel relieved at least, if not happy to know that Eren was fine. They still didn't know what had happened to him, and apparently he hadn't said a word about where he was or what he was doing. He frowned.

“Did he say where he is or why he can't come back yet?” he wanted to know. The Auror side of him had to know to be able to set up a search party, should the need arise. Any and all hints, and be they ever so small, would be needed then.

Armin frowned, “No, he didn't. But a Galleon can only fit so many words. And I didn't make them with situations like this in mind.”

“It's okay, Armin. At least we know he's okay, now.” Carla tried to stop him from beating himself up over this.

“Yeah.” he huffed. It was obvious he still wasn't happy about it, though.

“Did he say anything else that might help us find him, though?” Levi wanted to know then.

“Unfortunately not. Sorry, Levi.”

“You don't need to be sorry, Armin. It's not your fault.”

None of them were at fault for this, really. Only Eren had himself to blame for acting without thinking first. It wasn't his first time doing so and probably wouldn't be the last, either, with that temper of his, but there was nothing either of them could do about it. All there was left for them to do was sit and wait until Eren came back to them of his own free will or ask for help with whatever it was he was doing.

Well, technically, at least. Levi had no intentions whatsoever to just sit by idly and wait for his honorary brother to come back from his little adventure to tell the tale.

“Can you send him another message?”

“Yes, sure. What do you want me to tell him?” Armin perked up a little at that. He probably would've used the Galleon again anyway, with or without Levi's input, but he didn't mind having it. Levi was a trained Auror and knew what he was doing, after all.

“Tell him that if he doesn't get his ass back here by the time Mikasa wakes up I'm going to drag him back here myself.” Carla ventured before Levi even opened his mouth to speak. He didn't even dare to, after seeing the glare Carla fixed the Galleon with. As if it had personally offended her.

“Uhm, sure?” Armin looked a little uncertain to Levi who only nodded.

“Go ahead. I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but she's right. Mikasa will be beside herself once she wakes up and hears about this.”

He had only been allowed to take a short break from Mike to check in on his sister, since they were at St. Mungo's anyway, taking those children that were hit by lesser hexes from Kenny and his minions by emergency portkey to be checked over by actual healers. First aid spells could only do so much to help.

Mikasa's and Eren's friends had simply apparated to the front door after they heard where they would be going and making sure they weren't needed for further questioning any time soon. Levi would need to be back with Mike in only a few minutes, but until then he would makes use of his time and find out what he could about Eren's whereabouts. And find out some things, he did.

The moment he had walked into the room where his sister was placed, he wondered about where Eren was. After all it was unlikely for him to just leave Mikasa's side when she was hurt. He wouldn't be spereated from her if he could help it, Levi was sure. And when Carla came rushing up to him, asking him if he had seen Eren, Jean's words from before came back to him. He had corrected himself then, but now Levi was sure he had said exactly what he had meant to say the first time. _Two._ They were missing two of their friends. Mikasa and Eren. Not Mikasa, Sasha and Connie like they would have made him believe. Really, they should have known it would come out soon enough anyway, so once he had calmed down Carla, and to an extend, Grisha, he had gone and rounded up the guys, berating them for not telling him or any other Auror that Eren was gone the moment they realized it.

At least they had all looked appropriately ashamed then and apologized for their behaviour, further explaining what happened on the train when they left their compartment. They had rushed to the back to help the other sixth- and seventh-years set up a save space for the younger years, Mikasa and Eren lagging behind. They had assumed they would be shielding them from the hexes thrown at them left and right through the windows and even coming from the occasional compartment, only to find out later that hadn't been the case at all. Mikasa joined them a few moments after that, ushering two or three stragglers along in front of her, Eren nowhere to be seen. She explained that he had stayed back to keep Kenny away from them as long as possible to give the Aurors time to get there and then duelled Kenny herself when he had apparently gotten past Eren.

They were all worried for what that meant for Eren's well-being, but at that moment in time they had still been hoping he would be lying somewhere in the hall of their coach, at best only stunned unconscious and not kidnapped or anything like that.

Levi watched Armin write the message on the Galleon and with a last look to his still unconscious sister, he bid goodbye to everyone to return to Mike, asking them to let him know immediately when Eren let hear from himself again.

Mike and he hadn't been back to their office for more than a few minutes when suddenly a patronus materialized in front of Levi's desk. Both of them were slightly startled to the vulture perching on one of the visitors chairs, fixing Levi with an irritated glare.

“I have your brother, Mr. Ackerman. If you want him back alive and well, you better not involve any of your precious Auror friends in this. I want you to meet me. Time and place are not up for discussion. You will know when it's time soon enough. Until then, don't worry about your brother. He is well taken care of and mostly unharmed, unless for some self-inflicted splinters.” The vulture vanished then, leaving Levi frowning and angry and Mike looking contemplative.

“I suppose that means I am not supposed to know of this either.” he hummed, watching Levi closely. He didn't think Levi would try to obliviate him, but he couldn't be sure. Not when the man's family was involved. And there was no doubt in Mike's mind that Levi included Eren in his family.

“No, but Kenny could've hardly known when I'd be alone today or if at all. So he probably tried to minimize the chances of too many people overhearing and hoped I would be obliviating any that did. I won't, of course.” Levi said. He was still thinking about Kenny's words, trying to analyse them.

“Too true. So, what are you going to do now? Just sit around and wait until Kenny deems it time for you to meet him?”

“Hell, no. He seems to think Eren is my brother and that he can force me into bowing to his will by threatening him.” Well, Kenny hadn't exactly said that in as many words, but he wasn't completely wrong on the part that Levi would comply to his wishes. For now, anyway. Eren was his brother on some level. Though Levi mainly thought of him as something else.

He mostly saw Eren as a friend, a partner in crime back when they were still at Hogwarts together and on occasion, he had to admit, he thought of Eren not only as very good looking, but as boyfriend material, too. He found himself imagining how it would be to have Eren not only as his friend, but as his boyfriend as well. Though he usually squashed those thoughts the moment they appeared to him, forcing them out of his mind as fast as possible. There was no chance in hell ever that Eren would think of him that way, seeing as he was as straight as an arrow. And his honorary brother.

“He is not wrong, though. You would do anything for both Mikasa and Eren.” Mike pointed out, completely oblivious to Levi's inner turmoil.

“Yeah, well.” Levi huffed, “That still doesn't mean I'll just rush into this without thinking about things first.”

“Good. Now, do we tell anyone else about this? And what could Kenny possibly want with you, of all people?”

“Merlin only knows. I think we should tell eyebrows, at least. I'm sure he'll agree to let us work through this on our own and not involve any more people than absolutely necessary.” He expertly avoided the question of what Kenny could want with him, and he couldn't help but wonder, if maybe he should involve Ilka as well. Kenny seemed to want something from him that somehow had to be connected to his family, and he was sure the elderly witch could provide him with more information regarding this whole ordeal than any other witch or wizard could.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so what did you all think about it? :D I tried to make it somewhat interesting, though I'm not sure I managed that all that well :/
> 
> As for updates, I'm not too sure when the next one will be, but I'm fairly certain that it shouldn't take me another five months at least ^^" I already started on the next and so far writing has been easy, so I suppose I will finish it soon enough :)
> 
> Also, everyone willing to be tumblr-buddies is welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that? I managed to update within the month of uploading the last chapter o3o
> 
> Damn, I've been a busy bat, eh?
> 
> Please enjoy Eren's pov and let me know what you think about it! :3

-24-

Eren frowned at the new message that had appeared on his Galleon a few minutes earlier, fairly certain that it wasn't Armin who had sent it. Or well, he probably did, but he hadn't decided what to write. Those words sounded more like something Levi would say or maybe his mother. It also made him worry even more about Mikasa. She seemed to be unconscious still and would probably not wake up for a while. Though this only confirmed his choice of lying to Kenny about being Levi's brother in order to protect her from the evil wizard. With a sigh, he scratched another message into his Galleon.

“I'm fine, and I _can't_ come home. I'm trapped.” he muttered the words under his breath and put the Galleon back into his pocket, lest Kenny decided to come checking up on him just that moment.

Luckily, he didn't. Eren didn't see the man until the next day. At least, he presumed it was. He had fallen into an uneasy sleep at some point after sending out the message and hadn't woken until what he thought was hours later, finding a tray with dry bread and a glass of water standing just inside the door to his makeshift cell. After muttering a few charms that let him check the bread and water for poison or hidden potions and finding nothing, he devoured the food within moments. God, he'd been hungry.

Then he set about waiting and checking the Galleon for a new message that might have arrived while he slept. However, there was nothing there, so he spent his time mostly thinking about what would happen now and how he could find out what Kenny planned without giving himself away too soon.

What felt like hours later, he heard footsteps from outside the room he was in, nearing the door and stopping in front of it. Then someone banged on the wood.

“Oy, Ackerman, wake up! Time to rise and shine!” a woman called and Eren frowned, getting up from the place he'd been sitting in. The door opened then to a spell he couldn't understand and a tall blond woman entered, eyeing him with disapproval.

“Good, you're up. Come on then, Kenny will want to talk to you.” she pointed her wand at him, and ropes shot out of its tip, binding his wrists together tightly.

Eren glared at her but didn't voice his displeasure of the treatment, instead following her quietly when she turned around, leading him through the dreary corridor, down a set of stairs and then more corridors and even more stairs. Up and down they went, and he soon lost track of the way and wasn't sure he could find his way back to his cell even if he tried. It all came to an end when the woman stopped in front of an inconspicuous door and opened it, stepping aside in the process.

“Go on, enter. He is waiting for you, boy.” she said, pushing him though when he didn't move fast enough and closed the door with a resounding click behind him.

Eren gulped down the uneasy feeling that had been growing inside him ever since they left his cell and stepped into the room, accessing his surroundings.

One wall had floor to ceiling windows that showed a beautiful view of the countryside, while the other three held shelves filled with more books than he thought possible. He had a feeling that just touching one might collapse the whole display, they looked so old. The desk Kenny was seated at he spotted only when the man made himself known by speaking. Eren nearly jumped out of his skin, then.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. If it isn't the little Ackerman. I feel like congratulations are in order. You held yourself well in our duel, almost as good as your brother did a few months ago. It is obvious you are brothers. Though I have to admit, you don't look very much alike at all.”

For a moment Eren feared that Kenny was on to him already, but he tried not to let it show. Or if it did, he hoped Kenny wouldn't notice or would simply chalk it up to Eren being terrified of what he might do to him. However, nothing happened, so he slowly nodded his thanks.

“Yeah, we get that a lot.” he muttered. Maybe going along with Kenny and encouraging his observation of him looking nothing like Levi and vice versa would keep the man more even-tempered and more likely to spill at least some of his ideas.

Kenny waved Eren's words off. “Enough of that. Family relations is not why you're here. You are here because I need your brother's cooperation.” the man declared, obviously not thinking that revealing even this much could thwart all his plans.

“His cooperation? What for? And why do you need me for that?” Eren tried to get more out of him, even though he knew perfectly well why he was here. He was here to be held a hostage to assure Levi would do as he was told unless he wanted Eren to be hurt.

“Don't play dumb, young man. You know exactly why I need you.” Kenny glared at him, “You are here to assure his obedience. I'm sure he wouldn't want you to be hurt just because he doesn't want to do what I tell him to, would he?”

Eren huffed. He was right, then.

“Fine, then. And why am I here now? I mean, you could've just kept me in that room until Levi finds you here.” Wherever _here_ was.

“That's true, I could have. However, there would be no fun in that, wouldn't it?” the man actually chuckled.

It sent shivers of disgust down Eren's spine but he tried not to show how hearing it made him feel. Instead, he frowned.

“I suppose so.” At least for Kenny that had to be true. And while Eren didn't mind being out of the room and finding out about Kenny's motivation and plans, he couldn't help but want to be back in there. It felt somewhat safer than this huge room filled with a thousand tomes ready to turn to dust beneath one's fingers and the presence of this madman. It also helped that it would be far away from him, at least as far as he could tell.

“Now, don't be shy. We have a lot to talk about while we wait for your brother. I'm certain he will join us very soon. Come, sit.” Kenny waved a simple wooden chair into existence with a flick of his wand and gestured for Eren to sit down. He eyed it warily, uncertain of what to do. After a moment however, he sat down on the edge of it, ready to bolt at any time.

He found himself back in his cell about an hour or so later, when Kenny grew tired of regaling Eren with bits and pieces of his grand evil scheme and decided Eren knew almost enough to need to be permanently silenced once this was all over. Eren knew that, so he only just waited until the sound of retreating footsteps was gone for a minute or so before he pulled out the Galleon and looked for the piece of wood he had used before to trace his messages onto it.

“ _Not sure you know; Kenny plans to get to Levi through me. More later.”_ he wrote tiny letters so the message would fit onto the galleon at all. Once he received an answer he would explain more, he decided. He didn't have to wait long before the Galleon grew warm in his pocket, alerting him to a new message.

 _"Yes. What is going on?”_ that had to have been Levi who wrote it, Eren thought and quickly wrote back, with one ear listening to any sounds that might be coming his way from the other side of the door.

“ _He wants your family's vault. Some super old family secret apparently.”_ He wasn't sure how to explain it with only the limited space of the Galleon and without sending his patronus, which could possibly alert someone outside that he wasn't quite as out of resources as they thought him to be. This time, it took longer for a message to appear.

“ _This is bad. Eren, you need to get out of there.”_ Eren frowned. No, he wouldn't leave here before he learned more about this. And he sure as hell wouldn't Levi allow to fight Kenny alone, if he managed to somehow make his way here. So, deciding to ignore this message, he stuffed the Galleon back into his pocket and huffed in annoyance, settling in to wait for something to happen. Either Kenny would call him back, or Levi and the Aurors would show up to get him out of here, he supposed. However, he wouldn't go anywhere on his own unless he knew for certain that neither Mikasa nor Levi were in any danger from that madman.

He must have nodded off at some point, because he was woken rudely by the same woman from before. She yanked him upward by the collar of his shirt and pulled him along with her, down the corridors, up and down the stairs and through rooms Eren couldn't even properly look at before they were already through them. His questions about what was going on went unanswered and only when he was thrust forward and almost stumbled into a group of people, the madman Kenny among them, he got an answer.

“I brought him, boss.”

“Good. Thank you. You may leave us now. Levi is sure to join us any moment. Please make sure he gets here without delay.”

A loud boom echoed through the room then and the floor shook, making it hard for everyone to keep their balance.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that's it. I hope you liked it ^^'
> 
> The next chapter most likely won't be online before mid-august. Most likely toward the end of it or the beginning of september. That's because I'll be on vacation to Canada (visiting one of my honeybuns, Coco [[find her here](http://cocoachoux.tumblr.com/) [and here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CocoaChoux/works)]) from July 18th to August 6th and I don't think I'll have all that much time to write :D
> 
> Also, everyone willing to be tumblr-buddies is welcome to chat me up on [my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'm always happy to meet and talk to new people :3


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, everyone! I know I said late august QAQ Now it's october and I again took my sweet time with this. I have nothing to say for myself, other than I'm super mega extra sorry about it and that I'll try to be better.

-25-

Levi glared at the manor in front of him. They had only found this place because Kenny had wanted it to be found, he was certain of that. He still wasn’t entirely sure how they’d done it, though.

“What have we got?” Mike asked him, walking up beside him and scanning the manor.

“Not sure. The wards on this place were too easy to break down. It’s either a trap or he’s not here.” Levi observed.

“I’m voting for trap.” Mike hummed, waving his wand in another pattern to scan the grounds for any hidden spells they might trigger simply by walking up to it.

“Me, too. Especially after that message Eren sent earlier.” Levi frowned. Eren hadn’t responded to his last note on the Galleon and he just knew the brunette had decided to ignore his warning and try to save the day on his own. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Levi would rather that Eren had stayed out of the crossfire he was sure to get caught up in now. How was he to protect those dear to him when they did everything humanly possible to get themselves into danger regardless? He huffed in annoyance at that thought and watched Mike take a careful step towards the manor. When nothing happened, he followed slowly.

At the front door their progress was stopped again. The air basically shimmered with wards all around it, and some spells seemed woven into the brickwork itself.

“Great. Now how are we going to get in? I bet just taking another step would tear us apart.” Levi frowned, Mike nodding along.

“Check the windows. With a house this big there’s sure to be at least one back door, too. We should check for both.”

“Yeah. You go left, I go right. Send a memo when you find something.”

“Of course.”

They turned in their decided directions, scanning each window they passed for a gap in the fine-woven net of protective wards and curses that protected the manor. With each passing one, Levi became more more and more certain that Kenny was actually hiding somewhere inside of it, just waiting for him and the other Aurors to spring the trap that had been laid out for them.

In the end it was Mike who found the door leading into the manor. Levi and the few other Aurors who had been allowed in on this mission gathered around it, each of them casting diagnostic charms on the plain wooden door which seemed to have not even one charm protecting it.

“Well. I suppose this is our way in.” Isabel said, shrugging and eyeing the wood sceptically. They were all sure that even if the door itself was safe to open, the space behind it certainly wouldn’t be safe to enter.

“Seems so. However, before we blindly run into our untimely end, let’s check what to expect.” Mike hummed, casting a charm to turn the wooden planks transparent.

A dark, narrow hallway became visible for them for a moment, barely giving them enough time to access it.

“There doesn’t seem anyone to be waiting behind it.”

“It’s dark in there. The spell didn’t provide us with light to see. We can’t be sure.” Farlan pointed out to his partner.

“So we’re still clueless about what to expect once the door opens. Seems like we’re going in blind.” That was Mike, summing up everyone’s thought.

Levi, who had quietly listened until now, hummed in thought. “Mike, you go in first. Your protego charm is by far the strongest. Then Izzy and I will follow you. Farlan brings up the rear.”

Everyone nodded, accepting Levi’s plan and Levi opened the door with a wave of his wand, giving Mike just enough time to cast his protego before it opened.

Levi hadn't noticed he was actually holding his breath as the door swung open, revealing -nothing. Just an empty, dark hallway leading into the depths of the ancient manor. He slowly forced the air from his lungs, cast Lumos and followed Mike and Isabel into it, Farlan right on his heels.  
They walked in silence, everyone of them watching and listening intently for any sign of an ambush or any curses or jinxes that may have been set up as traps for them. Nothing happened though, and they all eventually got the feeling that something wasn't right.

“This can't be right. This corridor just leads on and on. There's no corners, no doors leading off to any other rooms, no windows, nothing.” Isabel frowned, being the first one to put into words what they all felt.

They stopped as one, Farlan casting his own protego to shield them from possible attacks coming from behind them.

“We walked right into their trap, didn't we?” Levi murmured, not wanting to speak louder than absolutely necessary.

Mike hummed, dropping his shield. “Try Finite Incantatem.” Maybe they were lucky and whatever spell they triggered when entering could be cancelled that way.

The spell fell away in an instant, revealing they were standing in an empty room and had apparently walked in circles all this time, if the footprints on the dusty floor could be trusted.

“Damn it!” Levi cursed and Izzy joined right in, before both snapped back into their professional mode and cast several revealing charms over the room to try and find out if they could get out of here. The door they had come through wasn't even there anymore, but Levi thought it might just have been concealed once they triggered the spell that had trapped them.

“I'm not sure but I think I found something. Look at this!” Farlan waved them over to a spot on the wall, gesturing at it.

“Isn't that one of the runes that covered that secret door in Kenny's house?” he wanted to know from Levi and Mike, who nodded mutely. Great. They still had no idea what those runes did or if they even did anything at all, so they had made no progress with that door so far, and now this.

“There doesn't seem to be anything else in here at all.” Isabel hummed and pointed her wand at the rune. Before either of them could stop her, she swished her wand and cast a spell. “Revelio!”

Nothing happened other than the rune glowing with a faint white light for a second or two before returning back to how it looked before.

“Isabel!”

“What are you thinking?!”

“You can't just cast a spell on a rune! Think of what could have happened!”

“We could all be dead right now! And then we wouldn't be of any good for helping anyone, let alone Eren. And we certainly would not be able to put Kenny back in Azkaban where he belongs, either!” Levi glared at her and she at least had the decency to look ashamed for her action.

“I'm sorry. I just hate being stuck in here.”

“We all are, but that is not a reason to act without thinking first.” Farlan admonished her and she sighed but nodded.

“Fine. You guys figure something out, then.” she glared at the men, crossing her arms.

In the end it was Mike who just blew the wall opposite of the rune to smithereens with a well placed Bombarda Maxima. The room shook, but the ceiling didn't come raining down on them and there was a clear path in front of them, so they saw it as a success.

Climbing over the rubble, they surveyed their immediate surroundings, only to find another corridor. This time though, there were doors and even some decorations on the walls. Windows, too, as well as pictures of people who surely were dead for centuries already, ugly, dusty tapestries and vases full of dry flowers. They had to have made it into the actual mansion now.

They all sighed in relief when they realized that. It meant they were finally a step closer to finding Eren and bringing Kenny back to where he belonged.

Opening doors and checking every room for occupants they made their way through the ground floor, growing increasingly frustrated when they didn't find anything. Levi felt a sense of dread settle in his chest, right behind his sternum and he could tell the others grew more restless as well, the longer they searched with no results to show for it.

“I really hope Eren is okay.” Isabel muttered. After that last message Levi had sent on the Galleon they hadn't heard from him again at all and could only guess what that meant for Eren. They all tried not to think of the worst case scenario, though.

“I'm sure he is. That boy can handle himself surprisingly well.” Farlan tried to settle her nerves, and Levi nodded. They all knew Eren wasn't too shabby with a wand -unless his one-track mind got the better of him and he missed an important detail. That had cost him a few duels back when they were in duelling Club in Hogwarts. No one was going to mention that right now though, though everyone thought about it.

It took them another twenty to thirty minutes to find any sign of life in the manor. They had progressed to the third floor and found a door warded by two wizards wearing cloaks that covered their entire bodies and cast their faces in shadows. The four of them immediately raised their wands in defence, in case one of the guards decided to attack them.

What happened instead baffled them all.

They stepped to the side, one of them nodding at Levi.

“You're here. Master Ackermann is awaiting your presence, Auror Ackermann. Please proceed.” they waved him closer. Mike, Isabel and Farlan followed right behind him but were stopped when they reached the door.

“I'm sorry, but we have orders to only let you though, Auror Ackermann. Please ask your companions to wait here. I assure you, no harm will come to them while you're in there.”

The group shared a look, none of them looking too happy about having to split up. In the end though, Levi huffed.

“If it means we can find out what exactly Kenny wants and get Eren back in the process, I'm doing it.” That the others were still outnumbering the guards was left unsaid. Three Aurors could surely take on two of Kenny's goons if the need arose.

“Fine. But at the slightest sign of trouble we're coming after you.” Isabel clarified.

“Don't forget the signal.” was all Mike said while Farlan just nodded, accepting Levi's decision without problem.

The doors opened then, just wide enough to let Levi through. He quickly rose a shield charm, just in case the occupants in the room decided to stun him as soon as they knew who he was. Nothing happened though, and he easily spotted the group of people gathered to one side -Kenny and a few of his followers, and Eren standing a few feet away from them, glaring daggers at Levi as soon as he saw him.

“Levi! Cousin! How good of you to finally join us! I hope the manor didn't give you too much trouble?” Kenny inquired, a false smile on his face that made Levi want to wipe it right off with a nasty hex.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, did you guys know that Ysoms will be turning two years old in a few weeks time? I sure as hell can't believe it. time flies way too fast. I still feel like i only started this baby yesterday and not two years ago.  
> Anyway. I hope i'll have it finished by this time next year around but I have no idea if i can actually do that bc I know i'll probably end up being a lazy bum for almost half the time until then ^^"
> 
> well, anyway. I hope you liked it? Please let me know what you think here in the comments or come screaming to me [on my tumblr](http://ladycarathis.tumblr.com)! I'd be happy to talk to you and maybe even spoil you with a few snippets of upcoming chapters, if I ever feel like it :D


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